Alderweireld to return for Tottenham against CSKA
LONDON (Reuters) - Tottenham Hotspur welcome back defender Toby Alderweireld for Wednesday's Champions League clash with CSKA Moscow, but will be without injured Erik Lamela, manager Mauricio Pochettino said on Tuesday.
Alderweireld, who has not played since injuring a knee in October, is fit enough for a place on the bench at Wembley Stadium.
Lamela has a hip problem and has also not played since October, but he has flown back to his native Argentina for personal reasons.
"Lamela is injured but has gone back to Argentina because of a problem with his brother. We send our support to his family," Pochettino told a news conference.
"Toby will be involved in the squad for tomorrow. He's recovering well. Tomorrow maybe he will be on the bench."
Striker Vincent Janssen (ankle) will also miss the game.
Tottenham have played European home games at Wembley this season due to the redevelopment of White Hart Lane, but lost both Champions League matches at the national stadium.
They are third in Group E and have no hope of progressing to the knockout stages, but a win or draw against fourth-placed CSKA would put them into the Europa League.
Pochettino said Europe's second-tier club competition offered Spurs the chance to make amends for their poor showing in Europe this season.
"I believe that it's important for the club to be involved in the Europa League," he added.
"We didn't play well in the Champions League at Wembley. But it's important for us to be involved in the Europa League. Why not try to go further in that competition?"
The Argentine was optimistic his team would qualify for the Champions League again next season and do much better.
"It's important to be positive," he said.
"It's true that it'll be tough to be involved in the Europa League again, but if we don't show we deserve to qualify for the Champions League, then our responsibility is to... go to the Europa League to go further in the competition," Pochettino added.
"I want to be involved in the next Champions League. For that we will fight. For big sides like us, or Liverpool, or Chelsea, not being involved in European competition is always difficult."
(Reporting by Simon Jennings in Bengaluru, editing by Ed Osmond)