Spurs' Kane, Alderweireld to miss Leverkusen game, Lamela doubtful
LONDON (Reuters) - Tottenham Hotspur defender Toby Alderweireld and striker Harry Kane remain unavailable for the Champions League match against Bayer Leverkusen, manager Mauricio Pochettino said on Tuesday.
Kane had been rated "50-50" to be fit for Wednesday's game at Wembley while Belgian Alderweireld has missed the last four games with a knee injury.
"Tomorrow Harry will not be available, no. He will not be on the bench," Pochettino told reporters.
"It's good to can see him do the warm up with the team, and be involved. He made half a training session. Then it was a specific training session for him, and for Toby it was the same," the Argentine added.
Tottenham play Arsenal in the North London derby in the Premier League on Sunday.
"We expect maybe Thursday Harry can do full training. Toby, maybe, but he has some other problem," Pochettino said.
Forward Erik Lamela, who has featured in 14 of Spurs' 15 games this season, is also struggling.
"Erik Lamela had a problem with his hip during training today and we are not sure if he will be involved tomorrow," Pochettino said.
Spurs had Hugo Lloris to thank after the French keeper pulled off a string of fine saves to rescue a point when they visited Leverkusen last month.
Pochettino, whose side are without a victory in five games in all competitions, said it was a must-win game for Spurs if they want to progress past the group stage.
"We understand that tomorrow's game is key. It's very important to take the three points against tough opposition," he added.
"They have very good players. It'll be tough but we are conscious that we need to take the three points if we want to go to the next round."
Spurs are second in Group E on four points, one behind leaders Monaco. CSKA Moscow, bottom of the standings, are the other team in the group.
(Reporting by Nivedita Shankar in Bengaluru, editing by Ed Osmond)