Wed 10 March 2021, 15:35
Tottenham HotspurJose Mourinho reports that Giovani Lo Celso will not be ready to face Dinamo Zagreb in the UEFA Europa League on Thursday night (8pm).
The Argentine playmaker was approaching full fitness on his way back from a hamstring injury suffered in December, but his potential return has been put on hold due to back pain, which Jose said ‘is nothing dramatic’.
Speaking after training on Wednesday, Jose told us: “Gio is not ready, but it’s nothing to do with his previous big injury, that one is behind him. He was training normally with the team, just improving fitness levels, and now he has a back pain, which is nothing dramatic or to fear, but he’s stopped training in the last couple of days, so not yet.”
Jose later said in his pre-match press conference that he was planning to make ‘a few changes’ for this Round of 16, first leg against the Croatian champions.
He added: “Apart from Gio, Joe Rodon the only player not selected because he is not in the UEFA list. Everybody is selected and everybody is fit. Am I going to repeat the same team that played against Crystal Palace? No, I'm going to make a few changes. The team is working very well, everybody is training hard, everybody is pushing to play, so, for me, it doesn't matter who is playing as our team is going to be strong.”
