Dembélé Returns to Tottenham Because of Soft Tissue Problems
Mousa Dembélé is vital to Tottenham, and while he’s fortunate enough to only pick up minor knocks, Mauricio Pochettino must be steadfast in limiting his minutes or lose him to a major injury.
Yesterday, Tottenham midfielder Mousa Dembélé suffered yet another injury. This latest knock was enough to prevent him from participating in Belgium’s World Cup qualifier against Estonia tomorrow.
At the time, it was bad news for Spurs and Belgium as both club and country would be without a key figure in the squad. Making matters worse, Belgian coach, Roberto Martínez, didn’t specify what Dembélé’s injury was.
Thankfully, the 43-year-old Spaniard revealed Dembélé’s ailment today as “soft tissue problems”.
That description of the Belgian midfielder’s injury doesn’t explain much, but Martínez has reassured Mauricio Pochettino and his medical staff that Dembélé will be fit to face West Ham United next Saturday.
“We have allowed Mousa to go back to Tottenham. Not for a serious problem but he wasn’t 100 percent [fit for Sunday’s game].” Martínez told the media at his press conference (via Daily Mail).
“We have been in constant contact with Tottenham’s medical department and we think he will make improvements in the next 48 hours.”
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It’s good to know that, not only is, this injury minor, but that Roberto Martínez is looking to keep club managers informed of their players.
And with three Belgians on Tottenham’s squad that’s a very kind gesture from the former Everton manager who knew the hardships of dealing with national team coaches.
“As a club manager myself, on many occasions I was left pulling the little bit of hair I’ve got because of [a] lack of communication with the national teams.” Martínez added.
“We have an opportunity between the medical staffs here and the clubs to help the player. It has been efficient in the last couple of games.”
“We have not got there yet but we can be quite clear with what the player needs.”
Lost in the mix of this good news, the elephant in the room must be addressed: Mousa Dembélé’s latest injury.
While it’s not serious, you can’t help but notice that the Belgian midfielder is getting injured far too often. Although the last couple of times Dembélé has gotten hurt were minor issues, these injuries start to add up and could become major problems down the road when they get re-injured again (see: Dembélé’s foot injury).
This season alone, when you include Mousa Dembélés suspension — which started at the tail end of the 2015-16 campaign — the Belgian international has missed the last 10 out of 19 games Spurs have played.
That’s an alarming number, considering that the 29-year-old is highly regarded as an integral part to this squad as he could unlock Tottenham’s potential when fit.
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For as great as Dembélé is, he carries an asterisk above him. Being healthy is a major knock (pun not intended) on him.
When healthy, it’s obvious that the Belgian midfielder is a must start. But at the same time, Mauricio Pochettino can’t afford to lose him even if “injuries are a part of the game”.
Harry Winks and Tom Carroll are capable (though doing a good enough job is debatable based on their form, Pochettino’s tactics and the opponent Spurs are playing against).
That said, here’s some food for thought. While Pochettino shouldn’t limit Mousa Dembélé’s starts, he could at least reduce his minutes by subbing him out early to keep him from missing any time with another knock that could potentially be serious.