Tottenham Hotspur boss Pochettino is confident that Toby Alderweireld would make a quick return after he completed a scan of his injured knee.
Spurs defender Alderweireld pulled an injury during the Premier League game against West Bromwich Albion on Saturday – where he was carried of the pitch. He will miss the Champions League encounter against Bayer Leverkusen on Tuesday but is expected to make a quick return for the next league game.
Pochettino said: “We believe it’s not a big issue. It’s a very heavy knock on his leg and now we wait for the result of the scan. It was this afternoon and we’ll see after what happened.”
Eric Dier is now expected to be used in the central defence role as a replacement for Alderweireld.
Talking about Dier, Pochettino said: “The important thing is we trust in him. It’s not important the position he will play. But midfield, centre back or full back we believe and trust in him. We trust him as a person and his skills. For me, Eric is a player who can develop his game in different positions.”
Kevin Wimmer could also fill the void in the defence and Spurs boss Pochettino is not willing to bring in youngster Cameron Carter-Vickers for the crucial Champions League encounter against Leverkusen.
Pochettino has decided to rest star right-back Kyle Walker and he has not flown to Germany with the rest of the squad, which means Kieran Trippier could be used as his replacement. Spurs will also miss their star striker Harry Kane, who is still out of action due to an ankle injury.
Pochettino added: “Always it’s important the squad and the 25 players. That’s the power of the team. Everyone believes they can play and fight for his place in the starting 11 in different competitions.”
“If we want to achieve big things it’s important to keep that mentality in our squad.”
Tottenham Hotspur had a rough start to their Champions League campaign as they lost the opening game at home ground to Monaco, but they pounced back strong and clinched a victory over CSKA in Moscow in the next group stage game.
Pochettino concluded: “We must win. If we want to go to the next round this is key to take three points from this game and to play at Wembley the same way. The next two games against Leverkusen for us hold the key to the possibility of going to the next round.”
