{"id":573213,"date":"2020-11-25T09:20:49","date_gmt":"2020-11-25T14:20:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/football\/?p=573213"},"modified":"2020-11-25T09:20:49","modified_gmt":"2020-11-25T14:20:49","slug":"toby-alderweireld-injury-not-as-big-as-initially-thought-says-jose-mourinho","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/football\/2020\/11\/25\/toby-alderweireld-injury-not-as-big-as-initially-thought-says-jose-mourinho\/","title":{"rendered":"Toby Alderweireld Injury ‘Not as Big as Initially Thought’ Says Jose Mourinho"},"content":{"rendered":"

Tottenham Hotspur<\/a> boss Jose Mourinho has confirmed that the injury Toby Alderweireld<\/a> picked up against Manchester City<\/a> ‘is not as big as we initially thought’. However, the Belgium international could still miss up to a month of football.<\/p>\n

Alderweireld Expected to Miss Between Two to Four Weeks Due to Injury<\/h2>\n

Injury Period Could See Centre-Back Miss Matches Against Chelsea, Arsenal and Liverpool<\/h3>\n

Mourinho, speaking ahead of his side’s Europa League match against Ludogorets, told reporters:<\/a><\/p>\n

“Toby has a muscular injury but not as big as we initially thought.<\/p>\n

“He will have his time to be out but not like a month, which was immediately what we thought. I’d say between two and four weeks.”<\/p>\n

Based on that time-frame, the earliest Alderweireld could return would be against Crystal Palace<\/a> on December 12. That would see the centre-back miss key Premier League fixtures against London rivals Chelsea<\/a> and Arsenal<\/a>.<\/p>\n

A four-week layoff would see the 31-year-old centre-back return against Wolverhampton Wanderers<\/a> on Boxing Day – which would mean he also misses the league game against defending champions Liverpool<\/a> on December 16.<\/p>\n

Tottenham Defensive Stability Hinges on Alderweireld<\/h3>\n

Alderweireld has been one of the pillars of Tottenham’s recent defensive record.<\/p>\n

Since a miserable 1-0 defeat at Royal Antwerp in the Europa League, Spurs have conceded just two goals in four matches, which have all resulted in victories.<\/p>\n

The most impressive was the recent 2-0 win over Manchester City – in which Alderweireld played a pivotal role.<\/p>\n

With the Belgian out of action for at least two weeks, Mourinho’s squad is left with just three centre-backs.<\/p>\n

Furthermore, Joe Rodon<\/a>‘s ineligibility for the Europa League means that Mourinho will be forced to pair an out-of-form Davinson Sanchez<\/a> with Eric Dier<\/a> against Ludogorets.<\/p>\n

Rodon and Sanchez will be battling it out<\/a> for a place in Mourinho’s long-term plans during Alderweireld’s absence.<\/p>\n

When asked about Rodon ahead of the Ludogorets game, Mourinho said:<\/a><\/p>\n

“To play regularly in the Championship I think it gives a player of quality a certain level of intensity and experience to allow players to be good players.<\/p>\n

“We have Davinson for tomorrow night and then Davinson and Joe for Sunday.”<\/p>\n

Mourinho also confirmed<\/a> that his plans for the returning Japhet Tanganga<\/a> lie in the full-back positions, as opposed to the centre of defence:<\/p>\n

“Tanganga for me is a full-back. A multi-functional defensive player but [firstly] a full-back.”<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Main Photo:
\nEmbed from Getty Images<\/a>