Arsenal vs Tottenham: Spurs optimistic stars will return for north London derby

Tottenham Hotspur FC via Getty I
Tom Collomosse16 November 2017

Tottenham are optimistic that several key players would return for Saturday’s north London derby at Arsenal, with Harry Kane, Dele Alli and Harry Winks all hoping to play.

The England trio were said to be making good progress after sustaining injuries, while goalkeeper Hugo Lloris was also attempting to be fit for the meeting at Emirates Stadium.

Kane, Winks and Alli missed England’s friendlies against Germany and Brazil. Alli (hamstring) was ruled out of the 1-0 win over Crystal Palace on November 5, while Kane (knee) and Winks (ankle) took knocks during that game.

Winks tweaked ligaments and came off at half-time but Standard Sport understands the 21-year-old has been making good progress and, barring another setback, he should be available against the Gunners.

Spurs boss Mauricio Pochettino said last week that he expected Kane to be ready for the derby, while Winks and Alli were attempting to recover this week.

Toby Alderweireld’s hamstring injury, sustained in the 3-0 win over Real Madrid on November 1, is likely to remain on the sidelines but Lloris’ thigh problem, which he suffered in the same game, was not thought to be as serious.

Fears about the ankle injury picked up by Jan Vertonghen while on international duty have calmed after he played the full 90 minutes for Belgium in their friendly win over Japan on Tuesday.

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Lloris’ deputy, Michel Vorm, hurt his knee in training before the Palace game, meaning Paulo Gazzaniga, the third-choice keeper, made his Spurs debut.

Before the international break, Pochettino also hoped that Victor Wanyama and Erik Lamela would make progress during the two-week pause.

A knee injury has restricted Wanyama to only two appearances this term, while Lamela has not played for more than a year and has had surgery to both hips.

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