Tottenham Star is ruled out of Barcelona visit

Mauricio Pochettino is concerned that Tottenham’s international players are facing burnout. Tottenham boss confirmed that Dele Alli has suffered a recurrence of the hamstring injury he picked up playing for England against Spain in the Uefa Nations League on Sept 8. The problem caused Alli to miss Tottenham’s defeats by Liverpool and Inter Milan and there are concerns that he will be out for around a month, although his club have so far refused to put a timescale on his recovery. Centre-back Jan Vertonghen and midfielder Moussa Dembele, who both helped Belgium to finish third at the World Cup, were withdrawn at half-time with muscle problems and Pochettino fears the pair may miss the Barcelona match. “The players finish the World Cup and they need to rest a few weeks. Then they start the Premier League and then there are the first international games. They play two games but they are not friendlies; instead, they play in the Nations League and all the teams want the best players to play. Who cares about the player? It’s so difficult," said Pochettino. “With the circumstances of the season, it’s a massive challenge for everyone. It’s not only us, there are a lot of teams that have the same problem. “The players are not machines. You want to push and push and push them and it’s not easy. No one helps but we are warned before every single game to play the same players.”