Mauricio Pochettino insists that Toby Alderwireld's back injury is "not a big issue" despite the Tottenham defender missing Sunday's Premier League clash against Burnley.
Alderweireld had been expected to line up alongside Jan Vertonghen and Eric Dier in a three-man defence in Pochettino's new-look 3-4-2-1 formation against the Clarets, but has been ruled out of the White Hart Lane meeting.
The Belgian's absence means that Pochettino instead opted for a 4-2-3-1 system, but the coach confirmed that Alderweireld's injury setback is not a serious problem for the defender.
"He’s not injured, he got a problem in the last training session in his back but it’s not a big issue, it’s only a small problem," Pochettino said via Spurs' official Twitter feed.
In Pictures | Tottenham vs Burnley | 18/12/16
Alderweireld's absence sees Danny Rose and Kyle Walker drop deeper from their wing-back roles to form a traditional four-man defence alongside centre-backs Jan Vertonghen and Eric Dier.
