Tottenham duo Steven Bergwijn and Serge Aurier back in training ahead of Antwerp Europa League trip

George Flood28 October 2020

Tottenham are set to be boosted by the respective injury returns of Steven Bergwijn and Serge Aurier for Thursday's Europa League clash against Royal Antwerp.

Both Dutch forward Bergwijn and Ivorian right-back Aurier missed Spurs' 1-0 Premier League win at Burnley on Monday night with what manager Jose Mourinho subsequently described as minor knocks.

It was initially unknown if either player would recover in time for the trip to the Bosuilstadion, though both were seen taking part in a final training session at Hotspur Way before the Tottenham squad make the short trip to Belgium on Wednesday.

Tottenham will look to maintain their 100 per cent start in Europa League Group J after goals from Lucas Moura and Heung-min Son - and a pair of assists from debutant Carlos Vinicius - saw Mourinho's side cruise to a 3-0 win over Austrian outfit LASK in north London last week.

Steven Bergwijn should be available for selection for Tottenham against Royal Antwerp in the Europa League (Tottenham Hotspur FC via Getty Images)
Tottenham Hotspur FC via Getty I

The opportunity to pit his coaching wits against a manager of Mourinho's stature is clearly a thrilling prospect for Antwerp boss Ivan Leko.

"I think everyone in the club and I feel very grateful to play with a coach who together with (Pep) Guardiola and (Carlo) Ancelotti, is the best coach in the 21st century, one who changed football,"Leko said at his pre-match press conference on Wednesday.

"First feeling is really grateful and one of the small dreams is coming true.

"I am just super happy, you play Tottenham and Jose Mourinho, you don't get to do that every five minutes.

"Who am I to talk about Mourinho? When Mourinho was winning the Champions League, I was watching, waiting for 8.45pm to watch his games.

In Pictures | Burnley vs Tottenham | 26/10/2020

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"I am just super happy my team plays against him. All the stories, everything about him, he just has very big respect from me, he has more trophies than some people have games.

"The most difficult thing in football is to win and Mourinho has won everywhere."

Additional reporting by the Press Association.

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