Mousa Dembele's latest injury update spells bad news for Tottenham

By Max Cohen

Mousa Dembele was expected to be out until the New Year with an ankle issue, yet Mauricio Pochettino recently clarified that he did not anticipate the Tottenham midfielder to return in January 2019.

Dembele’s latest injury update spells bad news for Spurs, as the north London club will be without one of their crucial midfield cogs for at least another month.

In comments reported by football.london, Mauricio Pochettino said that he thinks the Belgian will not be ready to return to full first team action in January.

“Maybe he will be ready to start to train with the team, but not at a level to play,” Pochettino said.

(Photo by Aaron van Zandvoort/Soccrates/Getty Images)

In a side already hard hit by injury concerns, the absence of Dembele will harm Tottenham’s depth until February at the earliest.

Although the midfielder’s injury came as a boost for youngster Oliver Skipp against Burnley, Spurs laboured to a 1-0 victory last weekend and showed they were not quite at full strength.

As Tottenham prepare to face off against Borussia Dortmund in the last 16 of the Champions League, Pochettino would ideally like to have a full squad to choose from.

But the latest timeline for Mousa Dembele’s injury comeback appears to put that prospect in jeopardy, a massive blow for player and club alike.