Tottenham Hotspur are without a number of key players for their game against Cardiff at Wembley today. The likes of Dele Alli, Jan Vertonghen, Mousa Dembele, Christian Eriksen, Serge Aurier and Luke Amos are all missing.
Spurs have got four matches in the space of eight days coming up at the end of the month and will be desperate to get their stars back in time to play.
Squad rotation is extremely important when you’re fighting on four fronts in the Premier League, Champions League, FA Cup and League Cup.
Without a full squad, it becomes harder and harder to give certain stars rest when they need it, which only leads to more injuries.
Dele Alli and Jan Vertonghen both attempted to play through their injuries, instead making them far worse.
Alli sustained his first injury on duty for England, but played on in the match. He then returned against Watford in the Carabao Cup at his old stomping ground Stadium MK, which flared up the injury again.
Pochettino has called for the young man to be smarter in future.
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SkySports report he said: “The first responsibility is always the player’s. Being honest, I think he felt from the beginning a problem but carried on playing.
“Players always push to play because they want to play. For some it looks like ‘if I am on the bench it is a dishonour – me, on the bench? I want to play even though I am tired’.
“You expect and hope that all the players learn if they make a mistake.
“You need to be more critical with yourself and to be honest it is a more difficult thing to find today in football.”
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