Tottenham Unconcerned Over Injured Defenders

Whatever sense of relief Tottenham fans might have felt following Saturday’s 2-2 draw with Manchester City was undercut by the prospect of injuries again hurting the squad.

Toby Alderweireld was forced out of the match in the 65th minute with apparently hamstring strain, while Danny Rose also seemed to play through an injury himself. Tottenham managed to hold out for Heung-min Son’s equalizer despite Alderweireld’s absence, but it’s far from ideal to continue that way going forward.

These latest injuries come just a week after news broke that Jan Vertonghen’s ankle would take six weeks to heal following his misstep in the win over West Brom.

Tottenham’s defense wasn’t stretched after the Vertonghen news thanks to the presence of Kevin Wimmer, who played the opening 45 minutes against City on Saturday. Losing one or both of Alderweireld and Rose would test the limits of Mauricio Pochettino’s depth chart however.

The Evening Standard reported, that, following a day off on Sunday, the club was encouraged about the progress of both players. They joined the rest of the squad for a mid-season destination training session in Barcelona.

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Still, Pochettino will likely not rush either player back for this weekend’s FA Cup fourth round test against League One’s Wycombe Wanderers. Fans can expect some combination of Wimmer, Eric Dier and Academy graduate Cameron Carter-Vickers instead. Ben Davies should understudy Rose at wing-back.

That will allow an additional week of rest for two players who have proven instrumental in Spurs’ success this season. Pochettino regularly relies on Alderweireld for not only his league-best defensive skills, but also his reliable distribution when the team is in transition. Rose, meanwhile, forms one half of the wing-back duo (along with Kyle Walker) that allow the 3-4-2-1 formation to click.

Both players should feature in their normal roles for the January 31st match away to a struggling Sunderland side.

This latest injury anxiety is part of an all-too-familiar pattern for Pochettino and Tottenham. Perhaps due in part to his intense training methods — but also a fair amount of simple bad luck — this Spurs side seem always in the middling of an adjustment period due to injury.

It was last season around this same time that Vertonghen suffered an injury to his knee ligaments. Tottenham thus far this season have suffered through prolonged absences from Alderweireld, Harry Kane and Lamela.

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One of the hallmarks and key strengths of Pochettino’s Tottenham is an uncanny ability to cover holes like these. Wimmer stepped up ably for Vertonghen last season, while Dier, Vincent Janssen, Heung-min Son and Moussa Sissoko also did their part to make up for the other three players’ absences.

Missing three of the five players that Tottenham relies on most all at once would be a much bigger test for Pochettino however. Thankfully that doesn’t appear to be the case here.