Mauricio Pochettino: 'Jan Vertonghen injury not as bad as first feared'

By Barney Corkhill, Editor | 19 January 2017

Tottenham Hotspur manager Mauricio Pochettino reveals that the ankle injury sustained by Jan Vertonghen is not as serious as first thought.

Tottenham Hotspur manager Mauricio Pochettino has revealed that the ankle injury suffered by Jan Vertonghen is not as serious as first thought.

Vertonghen left the field in tears during last Saturday's 4-0 victory over West Bromwich Albion, with initial estimations suggesting that he could miss 10 weeks after damaging his ankle ligaments.

However, Pochettino is hopeful of having the Belgian back available in six weeks' time, which could see him return around the beginning of March.

"Jan is OK, he's very positive. We are pushing him a lot; after a few days he spent the same time as us – 12 hours in the training ground – so it's a little bit boring to see him!" he told reporters.

"We expect [him to be out for] six weeks – less than was our idea in the first moment. I don't want to set a time limit but I think it's positive; when your mind is positive you can recover early.

"It's a different injury to the Euros, maybe similar. In the first moment it looked really bad but when we assessed him it's not as bad as we thought from the beginning. We have plenty of players who can perform in his place. We are very happy with the squad and the players that we have."

Spurs currently sit second in the Premier League table following a run of seven consecutive wins in all competitions.