LONDON -- Tottenham manager Mauricio Pochettino says the club is carefully managing Mousa Dembele and explained that keeping the creaking midfielder fit is crucial to the team's success.
Dembele, who turned 30 in July, has a longstanding issue with the top of his left foot and he has said he will always play with some pain, despite going under the knife in May.
The Belgium international has been a key player for Pochettino's Tottenham in the last two seasons, but the manager increasingly has to pick and choose when he starts, and Dembele has not featured in five of the club's past 10 league games, spanning this season and last.