Contract rebel Toby Alderweireld suffers injury setback to right leg and limps out of Tottenham training
The 28-year-old Belgian has already endured a lengthy stint on the sidelines with a hamstring injury
TOBY ALDERWEIRELD pulled up in training on Thursday with a problem in his right leg.
The Tottenham star has already missed three months of the season with a hamstring problem in same limb.
The injury will hardly help the Belgian international’s cause as he presses Spurs to increase their offer of a new deal which currently stands at £110,000-per-week – £40,000 per week below what Alderweireld thinks he is worth.
Asked about the Tottenham squad’s fitness, manager Mauricio Pochettino said: “I think it was only Toby yesterday who could not finish the training session.
“He suffered a small incident in the same leg, but we are going to assess [him] today and tomorrow.
“We will see if he is available for training and if possible be selected for the weekend. We hope it is not a big issue.”
On the bigger issue of Alderweireld’s stand-off with the Spurs board and talk of him joining Manchester United, Pochettino was less forthcoming.
The Tottenham boss said: “I am not involved in negotiation. I never talk about rumours.
“It is not my job and I cannot say nothing about that.”
WEIR NOW? Toby Alderweireld doubts over Spurs future as contract talks ‘reach deadlock’
According to The Times, Alderweireld’s current contract includes a clause which allows him to leave for £24.5m next summer while also giving Spurs to option to extend it by a year until 2020.
Tottenham may be prepared to listen to bids for Alderweireld this summer, provided they are sufficiently higher than his release clause and close to the £50m mark.
The Belgian has seen Virgil Van Dijk join Liverpool on £180,000 per week in January and many consider him to be a better defender than the Dutchman.
But that also means Spurs will demand big money to allow him to leave.
