Mauricio Pochettino has revealed Christian Eriksen is the latest Tottenham player ruled out of their Champions League clash with APOEL on Tuesday evening.
Tottenham are bidding to make it two wins from two in their group but will be without Dele Alli, Jan Vertonghen, Mousa Dembele, Victor Wanyama, Danny Rose and Erik Lamela.
Eriksen would have been burdened with extra creative responsibility against the Cypriot outfit but Pochettino has now revealed the Denmark international was unable to make the trip due to illness.
“Christian is a very important player for us,” The Daily Mail quote Pochettino as saying. “It’s true we will miss him but we need to move on. We need to find a way to play and perform and try to win. He is ill, he stays in London and we trust the player who will come into his position.
“I am not a manager who cries because a player cannot play. It is key to win and there are no excuses. We have a strong squad and this is a good opportunity to show it. We started well against Borussia Dortmund and this is so important. It’s so important to our future in the Champions League to get the three points.”
Eriksen has been in sublime form in 2017 and his absence, combined with Alli’s suspension, will be a big loss for Pochettino’s side, particularly in positions behind Harry Kane.
In Premier League away matches this season, only Sergio Aguero (5) has played a direct hand in more goals than Eriksen (4).
