Spur star Dele Alli and Gonzalo Rodriguez of Fiorentina compete for the ball during the UEFA Europa League round of 32 second leg match at White Hart Lane.
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Tottenham have suffered a double injury blow with Harry Kane and Mousa Dembele ruled out of tonight’s Europa League clash with Fiorentina.
Spurs returned with an away goal from their trip to Florence, where Nacer Chadli opened the scoring from the penalty spot before Federico Bernardeschi levelled the scores for la Viola.
Their absence could prove to be huge, with the duo playing an integral part in Pochettino’s selection so far this term.
“We’re just focusing on each game as it comes and enjoying the moment”.
However, Kane missed the latest training session as he was sent to a specialist, but is expected to feature against Swansea City in the Premier League this Sunday.
Tom Carroll, however, is out with an Achilles problem while Jan Vertonghen and Clinton Njie remain sidelined with knee injuries.
Swansea’s visit on Sunday is the first of three league games in six days for Spurs, with a trip to West Ham coming up in midweek before a North London derby against Arsenal – a game that could go a long way to deciding the victor of the Premier League title.
“We are in a key period”.
“It’s true that maybe for the supporters the Premier League is more important but we need to show we respect both competitions”, said Pochettino.
“The loss to Palace has not affected the group”.
Fiorentina knocked Spurs out of the Europa 3-1 on aggregate at the same stage of the Europa League last season, but Sousa believes Spurs have come on leaps and bounds since then.
“But as a 19-year-old he’s got everything. He is a very nice guy, a good person, but he’s very competitive”, said the Tottenham boss.
But showing remarkable capacity for mental as well as physical rehabilitation, Tottenham can now look forward to this afternoon’s last-16 draw in Nyon with genuine hope of improving their mediocre recent record in this competition.
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However, the Swans will pose a threat to Spurs given the Welsh side are fighting for their top-flight status as they sit just three points above the relegation zone ahead of the weekend’s action.
