Tottenham boss confirms injury boost but 4 other players miss Crystal Palace clash

Tottenham Hotspur will be desperate to open their new stadium with a much-needed victory over Crystal Palace on Wednesday night.

Ahead of the game, Mauricio Pochettino has been speaking to the media at his pre-match press conference this afternoon and he’s provided a full team news and injury update including the latest on the fitness of Harry Winks, Serge Aurier, Eric Dier, Erik Lamela and Fernando Llorente.

Let’s start with the positive news and the Spurs boss confirmed that Winks is back in the squad after missing the defeat at Liverpool on Sunday with a groin injury. However, the midfielder only returned to training today and Pochettino has hinted Winks may only start from the bench against Palace.

His return is a welcome boost for Tottenham as Dier remains unavailable for selection due to a hip injury that he picked up while on England duty while Aurier is also still out with a hamstring problem that he sustained during the international break.

Lamela is also expected to miss the visit of Palace tomorrow night after suffering a hamstring strain in training ahead of the trip to Liverpool at the weekend and Llorente has been ruled out after suffering a concussion.

One player who will definitely start for Tottenham against Palace is Hugo Lloris as Pochettino has confirmed he’ll stand by his captain despite his error that led to Liverpool’s late winner at the weekend.

TEAM NEWS:

? @HarryWinks (groin) – returned to training today.#PL ⚪#COYS pic.twitter.com/Vg2Ao1roaG

— Tottenham Hotspur (@SpursOfficial) April 2, 2019

#thfc Pochettino says (once again) that Hugo Lloris is one of the best goalkeepers in the world and confirms he’ll start tomorrow. “Dier? No. Harry Winks is going to be involved, maybe on the bench. He’s in the squad.”

— Ben Pearce (@BenPearceSpurs) April 2, 2019

Tottenham will finally open their new £1billion stadium tomorrow night and although it’s a huge moment in the clubs history, the focus will need to be on securing three important points after a difficult few weeks.

Spurs have picked up just one point from their last five league games and will drop out of the top four if Manchester United get a positive result at Wolves tonight so the pressure is on to get back to winning ways at their new home tomorrow.