Tottenham assess Nabil Bentaleb after fears over injury setback

Setback? Nabil Bentaleb will assess Nabil Bentaleb but remain hopeful
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Tom Collomosse19 November 2015

Nabil Bentaleb was today being assessed by Tottenham amid fears he suffered an injury setback while on international duty.

Bentaleb was withdrawn after just 37 minutes of Algeria’s World Cup qualifier against Tanzania on Tuesday. The midfielder reportedly experienced pain in his foot after a clash with an opponent and appeared particularly frustrated when he was substituted.

Bentaleb featured in both legs against Tanzania but his last game for Spurs was against Everton on August 29. Since then, he had been recovering from an ankle ligament injury.

Algerian FA sources indicated Bentaleb was brought off to ensure he did not receive a second yellow card but Standard Sport understands the midfielder’s recent injury lay-off also had an impact on the decision.

Spurs are hopeful, however, that Bentaleb will still be available for Sunday’s derby against West Ham at White Hart Lane.

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Tottenham head coach Mauricio Pochettino was worried about both Bentaleb and South Korea forward Heung-Min Son, who has only just returned from a damaged foot, playing for their countries this month.

Meanwhile, Jan Vertonghen is confident he will be fit to face West Ham despite carrying an injury into the international break.

The Belgian defender played for his country in last week’s friendly win against Italy, even though he was suffering from a groin problem after the 1-1 draw at Arsenal.

Vertonghen has been a mainstay for Spurs this season, starting every one of their 12 Premier League games and missing only one of the four matches they have played in the Europa League.

The centre-back said: “I had a groin problem after the match against Arsenal because we had played three games in seven days. But against Italy I had no problems, so I suppose it will work out well. I have played in nearly all club and international games this season up to this point.”

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