Tottenham face a striker crisis ahead of the Carabao Cup semi-final, second leg at Chelsea on Thursday after Dele Alli suffered a hamstring injury at Fulham.Alli pulled up by the touchline clutching his left hamstring and faces tests today with the worry that he may be set for an extended absence.England captain Harry Kane is already out with ankle ligament damage while Son Heung-min is away on international duty with Korea at the Asia Cup and the Alli setback throws into peril Tottenham's aspirations across four competitions. Manager Mauricio Pochettino said: 'We need to assess him but it is a hamstring and we need to be careful. It does not look great. On the pitch, we all agree that when he put his hand on his hamstring, it is a situation where you feel the pull. It is not great to see that.'Tottenham already fear that Kane will be out until March after suffering ankle ligament damage during last week's 1-0 defeat by Manchester United. Kane is attempting to make a return ahead of schedule but the worst case scenario could see the striker miss the second leg of the Carabao Cup semi-final, both legs of Tottenham's Champions League tie against Borussia Dortmund, as well as the next round of the FA Cup and Premier League fixtures against Chelsea and Arsenal.Pochettino insisted other players such as Lucas Moura will step up, although Moussa Sissoko also remains a doubt.'It is not a worry,' Pochettino insisted. 'It is a massive opportunity for a different player to play. We go to Chelsea expecting to win and it is important - the belief we have to try and win the game. Lucas Moura is ready to help the team from the bench or maybe from the beginning.' Fulham boss Claudio Ranieri was exasperated by his side's inability to protect a point after they went into the final minute of added time level-pegging and with a free-kick into the Tottenham area, having gone ahead through a Fernando Llorente own goal. It was cancelled out by Alli only for Harry Winks to grab a dramatic 93rd-minute winner.Fulham now remain seven points from safety with 15 matches left and Ranieri said: 'It's unbelievable. We gave a gift in the first goal. In the second, it's unbelievable to explain. We had lateral free kick. Why do we need to put ball in box?'We lack experience. We could have taken it to the corner and lose the next 10 seconds. But we wanted to kick on goal. Calm, stay calm, keep possession. But we are alive and continue to fight. I told the players "Well done".'
Dele Alli a doubt for Carabao Cup semi-final against Chelsea - YouTube |
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