Wed 25 November 2020, 14:51
Tottenham HotspurMatt Doherty is back in the frame for our UEFA Europa League fixture at home to Ludogorets on Thursday night.
The defender tested positive for coronavirus after the Republic of Ireland's match against Wales in the UEFA Nations League on 11 November. That forced him out of our 2-0 win against Manchester City on Saturday but he has returned to training and is now ready to join the squad again for Matchday Four of Group J against the Bulgarian champions.
"Yes, Matt's back, by the clinical and the legal point view of view he’s fine, he’s ready," explained Jose Mourinho at his pre-match press conference after training on Wednesday.
"Is he ready to start a match? We don’t know. Obviously, I still have some work to do with him to understand that, but to participate in the game, playing or being on the bench, is good, because in the Europa League we can have 12 players on the bench, so 12 plus 11 is 23 and it’s good to have him in the squad of 23."
Jose reported that Toby Alderweireld would be out 'between two and four weeks' with the muscle injury he suffered late against City - full story here - and that Erik Lamela was unlikely to feature against Ludogorets or at Chelsea on Sunday.
He added: "Lamela, not this week, not tomorrow, not Sunday. I think I can say that. I would be very surprised if he managed to be ready to play on Sunday, so I would say 'no' this week."
