Erik Lamela, Juan Foyth, and Paulo Gazzaniga set for late return from international duty, unlikely to feature vs Chelsea

Spurs’ Argentinian players are experiencing somewhat of a revival this season. Paulo Gazzaniga and Juan Foyth have featured more than they ever have for the club, and Erik Lamela has started the season in great form with 6 goals and 3 assists in all competitions.

The group’s success meant that all three players were selected for international duty with Argentina’s senior team, but that may have a slight drawback this weekend. The trio are unlikely to feature in Tottenham’s game against Chelsea on Saturday as they will only arrive back in England on Friday.

La Albiceleste’s international break will come to an end on Tuesday night (Wednesday if we’re going by UK time) when they face Mexico in Mendoza, Argentina. Lamela, Foyth, and Gazzaniga will then have a long day of travel ahead of them on Thursday to return to London.

Thankfully, none of the late arriving Spurs players play in central midfield. That’s an area of the pitch where Mauricio Pochettino doesn’t have much depth available to him right now, but the squad should be more prepared to deal with a missing winger, center-back, and backup goalkeeper.

Foyth has started and played the entirety of Tottenham’s last two Premier League matches. His performance against Wolves was solid until he gave away two penalties, but then he bounced back against Crystal Palace by playing quality defense and scoring the crucial winning goal. Jan Vertonghen is still out, so expect Davinson Sanchez to come into the team for Foyth.

Lamela might have been lined-up to start against Chelsea, and there’s still a chance he could feature off the bench, but Spurs’ other attackers are healthier now and can pick up the slack with Lamela unavailable. We’ll likely see an attacking foursome of Harry Kane, Lucas Moura, Christian Eriksen, and Dele Alli start at Wembley Stadium.

It’s great to see Lamela back involved with his national team, and it’s even better to see him starting. The 26-year-old spent quite a while out of Argentina’s squad as he was kept off the pitch by lengthy battles with injury.

That vital contest between Spurs and Chelsea will kick-off on Saturday at 12:30 PM EST.