Sanchez out of Tottenham's trip to Ajax, Vertonghen still in doubt

Dom Farrell

Sanchez out of Tottenham's trip to Ajax, Vertonghen still in doubt image

Davinson Sanchez will miss Tottenham's Champions League semi-final second leg at Ajax due to a thigh injury. 

The Colombia international sustained the problem during Spurs' 1-0 Premier League loss at Bournemouth on Saturday and it leaves manager Mauricio Pochettino with a headache as his side aim to overturn a one-goal deficit at the Johan Cruijff Arena. 

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Jan Vertonghen suffered a nasal injury in a painful collision with team-mate Toby Alderweireld and Ajax goalkeeper Andre Onana in last week's first leg at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. 

Vertonghen will continue to be monitored before the match and will wear a protective face mask if he is selected. 

"He [Vertonghen] didn't suffer nothing wrong, no more than cutting his nose," Pochettino told a pre-match news conference.

"It wasn't a big issue. If tomorrow he is fit and he has the possibility to play it is not a problem.

"I think maybe he doesn't need the mask. It wasn't a big issue."

Spurs will welcome back Son Heung-min, who sat out the initial encounter through suspension. 

The South Korea forward scored three of Tottenham's four goals in their quarter-final triumph over Manchester City. 

"Ajax have got a little advantage from the first leg. We have to deal with that and the only way to do it is to win the game," Spurs goalkeeper Hugo Lloris said. 

"We have to try and find the right energy, put intensity in our performance and learn from the first leg where we didn't make the game that we expected or we wanted. 

"Tomorrow is another chance for us to compete and to play for the final of the Champions League." 

Recent absentees Serge Aurier and Erik Lamela (both hamstring) are back in training, while Harry Winks (groin) has begun on-field rehabilitation but is unlikely to be considered. 

Dom Farrell

Dom Farrell Photo

Dom is the senior content producer for Sporting News UK. He previously worked as fan brands editor for Manchester City at Reach Plc. Prior to that, he built more than a decade of experience in the sports journalism industry, primarily for the Stats Perform and Press Association news agencies. Dom has covered major football events on location, including the entirety of Euro 2016 and the 2018 World Cup in Paris and St Petersburg respectively, along with numerous high-profile Premier League, Champions League and England international matches. Cricket and boxing are his other major sporting passions and he has covered the likes of Anthony Joshua, Tyson Fury, Wladimir Klitschko, Gennadiy Golovkin and Vasyl Lomachenko live from ringside.