Toby, but not to be: Alderweireld out until 2018

Daniel Storey

Tottenham defender Toby Alderweireld is expected to be out until after Christmas with a hamstring injury, manager Mauricio Pochettino has said.

Alderweireld has not played for Spurs since pulling up against Real Madrid in the Champions League on November 1.

The Belgian will now miss Saturday’s north London derby against Arsenal and is likely also to sit out games against Borussia Dortmund, Apoel Nicosia and Manchester City over the next month.

“We expect longer than we previously thought when the problem happened,” Pochettino said.

“Maybe after Christmas, maybe. That is the expectation. It will be longer than we thought.”

Tottenham are also hoping to have a handful of key players back for this weekend’s clash at Emirates Stadium, with Harry Kane (knee), Dele Alli (hamstring) and Harry Winks (ankle) all pulling out of the England squad last week.