25 year old could make return after 3 months out – if manager takes the big risk of starting him

Mauricio Pochettino has admitted that Cucurella could be rushed back into the team for Monday night due to the injury crisis at left back.

Today’s presser revealed that Ben Chilwell had a knee injury and Levi Colwill a toe problem, removing the manager’s two favoured options on that side of defence from the equation.

The other senior option in the squad is Marc Cucurella, who has been out since before Christmas after having surgery on his ankle. He’s been back in training for a couple of weeks now, but his last game was on the 10th of December, and it’s a huge ask to send him back into the starting lineup for Monday night without any match practice at all.

On the other hand, what are Pochettino’s other options? Alfie Gilchrist or Malo Gusto? It only serves to weaken the team elsewhere.

“We need to find different solutions again to deal with these injuries and see if Marc Cucurella arrives in good condition, to see if we are changing the way we play,” the coach said, revealing that he was at least considering playing the Spaniard from the start, fitness permitting.

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