Mauricio Pochettino confirms Mousa Dembele injury, but is unsure of his potential return date

Mauricio Pochettino confirmed that Mousa Dembele continues to struggle with a foot injury after the midfielder was not named in the Tottenham Hotspur team for their clash against West Ham United on Saturday (23 September).

The Argentine manager, however, was unable to specify the extent of the injury or provide a time frame on Dembele's potential return date after admitting that they will have to make regular checkups before deciding on when he can return to action.

Pochettino is hopeful that the midfielder will not need surgery yet again after going under the knife earlier in the summer to rectify a long-standing foot injury, which hampered his participation last season. Spurs play Apoel Nicosia in the Champions League on Tuesday (26 September) before travelling to the Kirklees Stadium to take on Huddersfield Town on Saturday (30 September).

"We'll see now. We need to assess in the next few days. We don't know if it's possible for him to be available to go to Cyprus [to face APOEL Nicosia in the Champions League]," Pochettino said, as quoted by the London Evening Standard.

"And then we'll see about Huddersfield [on Saturday]. We need to check him every day. Maybe in the next few days, we'll take some decisions with the medical staff.

"I don't believe [he will need an operation]. I don't believe. But I cannot say nothing because now it's in the medical staff's hands. Now we need to assess him in between tomorrow and Monday and we'll see," the Argentine coach explained.

The 30-year-old has made four appearances in the Premier League this season. He was on the bench for their draw against Swansea City earlier in the month and missed the game against the Hammers on Saturday.

Dembele is a vital member of Pochettino's squad and with Victor Wanyama also out injured, the manager is short of options in the defensive midfield positions. Eric Dier is the only experienced option at the moment, but Moussa Sissoko showed during their win against West Ham that he can deputise until the Belgium international returns.