Injury-plagued Spurs relaxed

– Mauricio Pochettino (above) expects Tottenham to thrive despite the damage to his injury-ravaged squad as they head to West Ham for today’s London derby.

Pochettino’s side return to Premier League action after the international break with mixed news on the injury front.

Danish playmaker Christian Eriksen and Belgian midfielder Mousa Dembele are both fit after recovering from abdomen and thigh problems respectively.

But Pochettino is still without injured England duo Dele Alli and Danny Rose for at least 10 days, while Jan Vertonghen is even further away from returning after his hamstring problem.

Despite their fitness woes, Tottenham make the short trip to the London Stadium in decent form after winning their last three league games, albeit with a painful Champions League loss to Barcelona between those victories.

With a hectic schedule looming in the coming weeks, Pochettino knows his squad will be stretched to the limits, but he is confident they can cope.

“It was a good time for us because we are going to recover a few players like Christian and Mousa Dembele,” Pochettino said.

Tottenham are fifth in the league, but sit only two points behind leaders Manchester City.

With City due at Wembley for a crunch clash against Tottenham later this month, the north Londoners are in position to bolster their hopes of making a strong title bid.

Manuel Pellegrini would love to take advantage of Tottenham’s injury issues but, asked if postWorld Cup fatigue might still be a problem for Pochettino’s squad, the Hammers boss made it clear he expects a tough test this weekend.

“I don’t think that any Spurs player will be tired.

“They are strong – you look at the players they have in their squad.

“Harry Kane is one of the best players in the world. They have three or four young players in the English national squad. They have a complete squad.

“Mauricio Pochettino has done a very good job at Tottenham. Every year he is improving them in the Premier League.” –

London

They are strong – you look at the players they have in their squad.

Manuel Pellegrini West Ham United manager