Injured Courtois a doubt for Spurs clash after leaving Belgium squad

Dom Farrell

Injured Courtois a doubt for Spurs clash after leaving Belgium squad image

Chelsea goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois has withdrawn from Belgium's squad to face Saudi Arabia due to an ongoing hamstring complaint and is now a major doubt for Sunday's clash with Tottenham.

Antonio Conte confirmed Courtois was suffering from a "muscular problem" ahead of last weekend's FA Cup quarter-final win over Leicester City, although understudy Willy Caballero usually starts domestic cup games.

Courtois joined up with Roberto Martinez's national side but Belgium have confirmed he will continue his rehabilitation with the reigning Premier League champions and play no part in Tuesday's friendly.

"Thibaut Courtois has not recovered from his hamstring injury and left the group," read a statement issued on the team's official Twitter page.

"Roberto Martinez will decide later on who will replace him in goal versus Saudi Arabia. Get well soon, Thibaut."

Liverpool's Simon Mignolet is favourite to start in Courtois' absence, with uncapped duo Koen Casteels and Matz Sels the other goalkeepers in Martinez's squad.

Chelsea's clash with Spurs is a pivotal fixture in the battle for Champions League qualification, as Conte's men sit five points behind their fourth-placed London rivals in fifth with eight Premier League games remaining this season.

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.