Mauricio Pochettino has ruled out injuries to Mousa Dembele and Eric Dier after confirming Tottenham Hotspur midfielders will be available for selection when his side take on Middlesbrough in the Premier League clash on 24 September.
The north London club registered a 1-0 victory over Sunderland. Harry Kane scored the only goal of the match and the England international left White Hart Lane on crutches off the field in the final minutes of the match.
Dembele and Dier were withdrawn in the 74th and 77th minute respectively at White Hart Lane. The former Southampton manager confirmed the midfield duo should be fit to face Aitor Karankas side at the Riverside Stadium on Saturday, but admitted concern over Kane's fitness.
Pochettino confirmed the England international will be further assessed and also explained his reasons behind his substitutions during Tottenham's latest victory.
"I don't think Mousa and Eric will be a big issue, not big problems, I think they will be available for Middlesbrough (next Saturday) but Harry Kane, we need to assess him tomorrow, it was a tough twist of his ankle and we'll have a scan and see," Pochettino explained, as quoted by Tottenham's official website.
"It's always to provide the team with more energy. The squad is most important and look today at the problems with Mousa, Eric Dier and Harry Kane.
"Now, in a difficult period and a lot of games, you need all the squad. It's tough sometimes when you start the season because only 11 players can play but to share the minutes is important, that's why we have 25 players."
Prior to the clash against the Black Cats, the White Hart Lane outfit suffered a defeat at the hands of AS Monaco in their first Champions League clash of the season. Pochettino has expressed his delight after his side bounced back when they faced Sunderland as the win saw them extend their unbeaten run in the league this season.
"The players were all agreed after Wembley that we needed to show another way, to be more aggressive and show more passion," Tottenham manager said.
"We were fantastic. In the end, it was only 1-0 after we created a lot of chances but I'm happy with the three points and now we look forward to the next game against Gillingham in the (EFL) Cup (on Wednesday)."
