Eriksen not ready for Tottenham return, says Pochettino

Mauricio Pochettino has confirmed Tottenham will be without playmaker Christian Eriksen for their Europa League opener against Qarabag on Thursday.

The Denmark international has not featured for Spurs since a 2-2 draw with Stoke City in mid-August due to a knee problem.

Eriksen returned to training on Wednesday, which sparked hopes he could feature in the first match of Group J, but Pochettino – who is also without Ryan Mason, Mousa Dembele and Nabil Bentaleb – says the playmaker is still not ready to return.

“Christian Eriksen is close but still out,” he said. “Ryan Mason and Mousa Dembele are also out.

“We hope Ryan isn’t [out for] too long in his recovery, we need to assess him day by day.

“Bentaleb is out maybe two weeks more. We need to assess him as well, have patience and the same with Mason.”