Dele Alli still out, Eric Dier also to miss Chelsea vs. Tottenham

The good news on the injury front for Tottenham Hotspur is that Harry Kane is back scoring goals for the team.

Spurs lost to Burnley 2-1 on Saturday, but the silver lining was that Kane scored and looked to be in good form following an injury layoff of around six weeks.

Mauricio Pochettino’s team needs to bounce back on Wednesday when they go to Stamford Bridge to face a struggling Chelsea side. Kane is good to go once again, but Spurs will still be without another key player in Dele Alli. They will also miss the services of Eric Dier.

Dier missed a substantial period of time earlier this season after he had his appendix out, and now he has to get his tonsils out just a couple months later? Are there any other non-essential body parts left for him to lose?

Dier’s absence means that Spurs will have even fewer midfield options than usual. Victor Wanyama and Oliver Skipp are the only real alternatives to the ever-present midfield of Harry Winks and Moussa Sissoko. The Lilywhites could’ve used Dier’s defensive strengths in midfield, as well as his ability to rile-up Chelsea players.

Dele’s rehabilitation appears to be going well. On Tuesday morning, Pochettino gave some more details to the press about when the 22-year-old can be expected to return to the pitch.

“Still I don’t know. We need to assess and we’re doing so day by day. We can’t say if he will be available for Dortmund or Southampton. Sure not available for tomorrow, after we’ll see.”

The need to rush Dele back for the Dortmund game may no longer be there. Spurs have a healthy 3-0 advantage going into the second leg, and will probably want to line-up with a more defensive team anyway. If Dele is feeling well enough maybe he will earn a spot on the bench for that one. A return against Southampton on March 9th seems a bit more likely.

Chelsea will be without three players who don’t really play anymore for them in Gary Cahill, Danny Drinkwater, and Marco van Ginkel.

Maurizio Sarri could opt for Willy Caballero in goal after Kepa Arrizabalaga refused a substitution in extra time of Sunday’s League Cup final at Wembley. He claimed today that he has not yet made a decision about who will be their starting goalkeeper.