Tottenham are facing a number of injury worries ahead of their Champions League game against Barcelona with Christian Eriksen, Jan Vertonghen, Mousa Dembele and Serge Aurier all missing training on Tuesday.
Eriksen was unable to face Huddersfield on Saturday due to an abdomen problem and did not recover in time to train ahead of Wednesday’s match.
Aurier also missed the weekend’s trip to Yorkshire due to a thigh injury and, although he was spotted working by himself on Tuesday, his inability to practise with the rest of the squad takes him out of contention.
Vertonghen and Dembele were both forced off at half-time at Huddersfield. Vertonghen has a hamstring injury while Dembele missed Wednesday’s session after suffering a kick last Saturday.
Dele Alli and Michel Vorm are already ruled out due to hamstring and knee injuries respectively.
Young centre-back Juan Foyth and winger Georges-Kevin Nkoudou trained with the squad but are unable to face Barcelona because they have not been registered in Tottenham’s squad for the Champions League group stage.
Spurs captain and No. 1 goalkeeper Hugo Lloris was also on the practice pitch ahead of Wednesday’s match, having missed the last six games with a thigh injury, but could be in contention to return.
There may be “no good time to play Barcelona” but former Tottenham striker Mido is convinced Spurs have a strong chance of causing an upset against the stuttering Spanish champions.
Tottenham welcome Barcelona to Wembley on Wednesday for their second game in Champions League Group B with Mauricio Pochettino’s side in need of points after defeat at Inter Milan in their opening game.
Barcelona won their opening group game against PSV but have struggled since then, picking up only two points from their last three La Liga matches, including a shock defeat at Leganes.
“It’ll be tough but we’ve seen in La Liga that they’re not in their best form,” Mido, who played 63 games for Spurs between 2005 and 2007, told Standard Sport. “It’s not impossible to beat them, Tottenham have a good chance.
“There’s no good time to play Barcelona but maybe if there were it would be this!
“Pochettino knows Spanish football well and with him they’ve got a chance. Spurs playing Barcelona shows that they’re heading in the right direction with good management, a good coach, talented players young and old, great fans and a new stadium coming. The future’s bright.”
Spurs’ defeat to Inter was their third in a row in all competitions but since then Pochettino’s men have rallied, picking up back-to-back wins in the Premier League.
Those victories over Brighton and Huddersfield saw Harry Kane net three goals to assuage concerns over his form, though Mido believes Pochettino must still rest the England striker.
“Even though he scored a couple of goals yesterday he doesn’t look as fresh as he did last season. Pochettino knows best that when the right time comes he should take five or six days off, even if that means pulling him out of a couple of games.
“You cannot replace him but when the right time comes it would be a good idea [to rest him].”