Tottenham Hotspur may be without the services of Toby Alderweireld until April 2018 after the defender has revealed that he might need to go through surgery in order to recover from his injury completely. The centre-back suffered a muscle injury in the 3-1 Champions League triumph over Real Madrid at the Wembley Stadium on November 1. Since then, Mauricio Pochettino’s men have struggled to get results and have tasted away defeats against Arsenal and Leicester City.
They have also squandered points against West Bromwich Albion at Wembley and recently at Watford which has seen them drop out of the top five.
In a recent interview, the 28-year-old addressed his injury and said, “I suffered a serious muscle tear, and there is a major risk of me suffering a relapse. If the muscle tears completely then I will need an operation, and 14 weeks of recovery time. So we are trying to find the right way of working the muscle as much as possible. I will have a scan in two weeks‘ time. We will see how much it has recovered, and how far we can push it.”
When asked about Tottenham’s wretched run of form, the defender continued:
“It hasn’t been fun for me having to watch from the sidelines while the team has struggled. It motivates me to come back quicker and stronger. It is my aim to be fit again as soon as possible, but I have to take my time.”
The Daily Mail reports that Tottenham Hotspur are refusing to budge from their strict wage structure with growing concerns over the future of their centre-back, Toby Alderweireld. They have missed the defender’s services in recent matches, which has seen Spurs drop crucial points in the race to finish in the top four.
With each passing day, the worries are growing that the North Londoners could be forced to sell their star Belgian centre-back at the end of the season with the ongoing negotiations regarding a new deal at a deadlock. In recent reports, it has been revealed that Alderweireld earns £50,000-per-week which is quite a low amount considering his incredible qualities.
At 28, the Belgian is looking to sign a big contract but Tottenham currently has a wage structure which would only see him get paid a £110,000-per-week wage at the most with the defender wanting a figure upwards of it. As it stands, Tottenham are unwilling to meet his high demands but are still hopeful that a deal could be agreed before the summer.
The club chairman, Daniel Levy has a policy of not letting players enter the final two years of their contracts with the defender’s current contract running down in the summer of 2019.
It has also come to light that Spurs have a clause which could extend his current deal by 12 months but activating it would mean that the player would have a £25m release clause. That figure is nearly half of his current valuation which has given the Tottenham hierarchy a real dilemma. It is understood that the Belgian is in a strong position and is in no hurry to sign an extension. With top clubs like Manchester City known as long-term admirers of his talents, it remains to be seen how Spurs play this out.
