Mauricio Pochettino has confirmed that both Harry Kane and Toby Alderweireld will miss their crucial home game in the UEFA Champions League against Bayer Leverkusen.
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Spurs host the Bundesliga outfit at Wembley on Wednesday and speaking ahead of the match Pochettino confirmed that both his star striker and center back aren’t fit enough to be in the squad.
With four points from their opening three games in the UCL, Spurs know a win against Leverkusen is crucial for their hopes of advancing from Group E and into the knockout rounds.
So, with Pochettino confirming the duo were missing at his press conference, the inevitable question about Kane’s availability for the huge north London derby against Arsenal this Sunday (Watch live, 8 a.m. ET and online via NBCSports.com) then arrived
“Maybe, maybe,” Pochettino said, with a smile.
He then went into more detail, saying that Kane (who has been out since Sept. 18 with an injured ankle) trained for half of the session on Tuesday with the team and should be back in full training on Thursday.
If Kane is fit to play against Arsenal this Sunday then he could well be called into the England squad for their big World Cup qualifier against Scotland and the friendly against Spain. Would Pochettino welcome that given Kane has worked so hard to get back to full fitness for Spurs?
“I don’t know if he is available to play against Arsenal on Sunday,” Pochettino said. “It is difficult for us to stop the national team calling him. That is more the say of the manager of the national team to select him or not.”
So, basically, if you don’t have to call him up, then don’t. That’s the abbreviated message from Pochettino to England’s interim boss Gareth Southgate.
In the meantime, Kane’s potential return for Tottenham in the north London derby will be music to the ears of Spurs fans as their team has scored just three in their last five games in all competitions.
Kane has scored four times in his three Premier League appearances against Arsenal.
