Tottenham Hotspur Could Be Without Nine First-Team Players Ahead Of Their Opening Weekend Fixture

The World Cup ended just three weeks ago - and with this comes a lot of players who are behind schedule in terms of fitness.

And Spurs manager Mauricio Pochettino admitted that his players might lack match sharpness ahead of his side's encounter with Newcastle United on the opening game of the season, and that he would rather leave those players out, to avoid risk of them getting injured.

He said: "It would be better for these players to miss the first one or two games than to play and end up getting injured and missing more games further down the line.

"It's a massive challenge for these players to get fit in time for the Newcastle game. Almost impossible.

"If we feel it is too much of a risk to play these players then, no matter how much work they have been doing, we will not play them.

Dele Alli and Harry Kane are currently at the Spurs training camp in a bid to get to match sharpness - and their teammates Kieran Trippier, Eric Dier and Danny Rose will be joining them later today, while the Belgium trio Jan Vertonghen, Toby Alderweireld and Mousa Dembele, and Frenchman Hugo Lloris will also join them.

Mauricio Pochettino

Pochettino admitted he was surprised and glad to hear that Kane decided to turn up to training early:

"I messaged him, saying he was showing great commitment. He said 'Gaffer, I want to be ready for Newcastle'.

"I told him 'Thank you, but you need to rest because 20 days off is the minimum time to have off at the end of a season to ensure a full recovery'.

"It shows great commitment, but we will assess all of the returning players on Monday - and we will not be taking any risks.

"It is going to be a long season and we need to ensure that the players have had the right amount of recovery before starting it."

Kane

The Premier League will kick off this weekend as Spurs face crisis club Newcastle United, just as they did last season.

Where do you think Spurs will finish in the league this season? Let us know in the comments section.

Topics: Spurs, Football News, Football, Harry Kane

Jacque Talbot

Jacque Talbot is a journalist and sports writer at SPORTbible. He graduated from Manchester Metropolitan with a BA in English and Film. He is a football, snooker, and basketball enthusiast and has been published in the Daily Mail, The Guardian, The Set Pieces, Planet Football and the Morning Star. He’s the greatest thing to come out of Essex since Nick Frost.

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