Pochettino Confirms Sissoko Will Miss Tottenham's UCL Semifinal 1st Leg
Mauricio Pochettino has revealed Moussa Sissoko won't be fit for Tottenham's Champions League semifinal first leg tie against Ajax next week.
Sissoko was forced off with a groin injury during Tottenham's quarterfinal triumph over Manchester City at the Etihad and was subsequently absent for Pochettino's side when it faced off against the Citizens in the Premier League at the weekend.
Speaking ahead of Tottenham's Premier League clash against Brighton on Tuesday evening, Pochettino has confirmed that Sissoko is highly unlikely to be available for selection over the coming weeks.
He said, as quoted by The Telegraph: "No. He is not going to be fit for the next two weeks. I hope he can recover before, but I’m not optimistic."
The news comes as a huge blow to Tottenham, whose injury concerns are beginning to mount up as the season draws to a close. Sissoko's midfield teammate Harry Winks is also unlikely to be unavailable, which means that Pochettino's options will be severely limited in the middle of the park.
“Harry Winks, I don’t know,” he added. “It’s a problem that one day is very good and one not so good. It’s about assessing every day. We will see, maybe he will be available Tuesday but I’m not sure.”
In more positive news, Pochettino was hopeful that Hugo Lloris - who was ruled out against City at the weekend due to a minor muscle injury - would be fit to return to the starting XI against Brighton.
He added: “I hope so. We will assess him at the training session. We hope it is not a big issue, hopefully he is going to be available.”
