Pochettino gives injury update on Dele Alli

Dele Alli picked up an injury on duty with England during the international break, suffering from a minor muscle strain during the match against Spain.

Alli withdrew from the squad early to return to Tottenham for treatment, and has been out of the team ever since.

So far the young English midfielder has missed crucial ties against Liverpool and Inter Milan, both of which Tottenham lost 2-1.

Without Alli sitting in behind Kane and Moura, Spurs seem to have lost a sense of balance in their team, now succumbing to three straight defeats in all competitions.

Alli was originally only meant to be out for around a week, but that week has been and gone, and there has still been no confirmation of his return.

Tottenham face an away trip to Brighton this weekend, needing not only a win, but a big win to make a much-needed statement to their rivals.

Four defeats in a row simply isn’t an option.

Poch had this to say on Alli during his press conference: “Still we need to wait tomorrow to assess him, to see if he’ll be part of the squad. Today was a recovery day for everyone and it’s difficult to judge today if he’s ready or not to play.

“Tomorrow we’ll see if he’s ready or not to be part, if it’s possible for him to help or maybe if we need to wait a few days more to involved him in the competition.”

Asked if they would take risks with Alli after three losses on the bounce, Poch said: No, we’re never going to put ourselves or our interests in front, taking risks with a player. It’s impossible.

“After four years you know very well we’re never going to put a player at risk because we win. We need to win and the most important thing is all the players who are going to be on the pitch, we need to feel they’re 100 per cent.

“Of course football, it’s a sport where you always assume risk, but not consciously. If you’re conscious you are going to take a risk, it’s impossible for us to take a decision and then something wrong happens when you knew it was a massive risk.”

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