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Tottenham Hotspur will travel to Newcastle without a big number of first-team players for the team’s first match of the season.
In his pre-match press conference, Mauricio Pochettino revealed that Victor Wanyama, who picked up a knee injury in preseason, is still recovering from it and doing gym work. Meanwhile, Erik Lamela will miss the match with an undisclosed injury after missing most of preseason. Juan Foyth, Josh Onomah, and Harry Winks stay on the injury list, with Cameron Carter-Vickers joining them. The center back picked up a groin injury, and will not play against Newcastle as a result.
However, Pochettino did come with some good news. Onomah and Winks are recovering well from their injuries, and have rejoined training. Foyth, meanwhile, is a few weeks away from joining them.
Pochettino also provided updates on the club’s nine World Cup semifinalists, who returned to training this week after their post-tournament breaks. He joked that he may have suited up himself should the nine not return fit, but he is pleased with the overall fitness of the players.
#thfc Pochettino on the World Cup Nine: "I am so happy with the way they came back to training on Monday. I am so proud about them because they were very focused on trying to arrive in a very good condition. Of course the circumstances are completely different from each other."
— Ben Pearce (@BenPearceSpurs) August 9, 2018
Ultimately, though, he was non-committal on whether or not anyone from that group would get minutes on Saturday.
#thfc Pochettino: "Some need more time to get fit than others. Some will be fit to start the game. Some will be fit to be on the bench. Maybe some will stay here to try to reach the level, to give more time, because maybe we don’t want to take risks or they need more preparation"
— Ben Pearce (@BenPearceSpurs) August 9, 2018
Figuring out the first starting lineup of the season should be quite the brain teaser for all, and for Pochettino in particular.