Mousa Dembele hopeful of being involved against Real Madrid after shaking off injury woes

Mousa Dembele hopes he has put the worst of his injury problems behind him and can now focus on Tottenham Hotspur's push for silverware this season.

Dembele underwent ankle surgery during the summer to address a long-standing issue but the problem flared up once again in September, ruling him out of Premier League matches against West Ham United, Huddersfield Town on Bournemouth.

The Belgium international shook off that problem and was a surprise inclusion in the party that travelled to Madrid for the Champions League showdown with Real Madrid. Dembele was not involved in that match however after picking up a fresh hip injury during a training session in Spain that also ruled him out of the victory over Liverpool five days later.

Dembele has featured off the bench in each of Tottenham's last two matches however, coming on late on against West Ham United in the Carabao Cup and against Manchester United at Old Trafford on Saturday.

While Mauricio Pochettino's side tasted defeat in that last encounter, Dembele took the positives having played his first Premier League match since the start of September and hopes to build on that in the coming weeks.

"It's been tough, of course," he told the club's official website. "It's frustrating not only missing the big games but you just want to play.

"I can't get too carried away because of the result but I played half-an-hour against Manchester United and that's positive for my physical condition.

"I thought I started well this season so the injuries have been frustrating but the team has been doing well. Of course, the results against United and West Ham were disappointing but I don't think we need to worry too much. We're playing well."

After missing the reverse tie, he will be hoping to be involved against Zinedine Zidane's side at Wembley on Wednesday.

"I want to play as much as possible and it would be good to play against them," Dembele added. "We showed over there that we can compete."

With Dembele edging his way back to full fitness, Tottenham could have an extra boost for the visit of the defending European champions with Pochettino optimistic Harry Kane will recover in time from a hamstring injury to lead his attack.

The England international limped off after scoring twice against Liverpool on 22 October and subsequently missed the defeats to West Ham and United. But the Spurs manager insists he has a "good" feeling over the 24-year-old being ready for Wednesday night.