Tottenham star Mousa Dembele pushing for start against West Ham but Erik Lamela remains sidelined

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Tom Collomosse24 October 2017

Mousa Dembele is pushing to be involved for Tottenham against West Ham on Wednesday but Mauricio Pochettino is unsure when Erik Lamela will return.

Dembele’s ankle and hip problems have restricted him to only six appearances this season but the Belgium midfielder has resumed training and, unless he suffers another setback, should play a part in the Carabao Cup fourth-round meeting at Wembley.

Pochettino had also hoped Lamela, whose last game was on October 25 last year, would be available, but admitted his fellow Argentine is still not ready for competitive action. Lamela has had two hip operations this year and last appeared for Spurs in the 2-1 defeat at Liverpool, at the same stage of this competition.

Pochettino revealed: “Dembele is on the list and we have until Wednesday to decide the starting XI but in the last few days he has been doing well.

“Lamela is not on the list. He is doing well but he is still not available and I don’t know when he will be. After nearly a year out, I can’t say whether it will be in one week or one month. It depends on his evolution.

“We have to assess him every day, see how he is feeling and then decide when he is ready, but we need to be careful. After a long period out, the psychological aspect is so important. It is different when you only train but don’t play.

“We need to take care with him because there is always a risk, but he is doing well and we will provide the chance to play when we believe it is right.”