Mauricio Pochettino says Heung-Min Son could be out of action for another three weeks with his foot injury - and Ryan Mason and Nabil Bentaleb will not be ready to face Liverpool on Saturday either.

Summer signing Son made an instant impact after arriving from Bayer Leverkusen for £22million, scoring three goals in his first five games, but he has missed Spurs’ last two matches through injury and is set to continue his spell on the sidelines.

“Nabil Bentaleb, Ryan Mason and Son are still out - this is the same as a few weeks ago,” said Pochettino at today’s (Thursday’s) press conference.

“Sonny’s injury was in his foot but it’s ok, we’re happy with him. Maybe in a few weeks he will be back.

“How many weeks? One, two, three… I think he’s nearly [ready] to come back, to start training with the group, but you know every injury is different and we need to assess it day by day.

“Mason and Nabil are close, closer than Sonny – maybe [they will be back] for the next game [against Anderlecht next] Thursday or Premier League game [at Bournemouth next Sunday].”

Spurs will also be missing Eric Dier against Liverpool this weekend. The 21-year-old has started all of Tottenham’s first 11 games in all competitions but picked up his fifth yellow card at Swansea before the international break, triggering a one-match suspension.

With Mason and Bentaleb still recovering from their injuries, Pochettino is short of options in front of the back four.

The head coach said: “Always it’s a problem when you have some players in this situation but we have a big squad, I trust in all the players.

“Sometimes you have to pick, to decide, who is the best player to play in different games, but I’m happy with the squad. Always you want to have all players fit and available to decide who to pick, but this is football and we need to accept the situation.”

Pochettino can at least call on 19-year-old Dele Alli, who made his senior England debut against Estonia last Friday and then played for more than 20 minutes against Lithuania on Monday.

“I watched the second game he played and his first touch was a great touch,” said Pochettino. “He’s mature and they [England] looked after him in a very good way. I’m happy with the way he’s come back because he’s the same as when he went to the national team.

“He’s still young but very mature - on the pitch and outside. He’s a great boy and we’re happy how he has adapted in the different levels, in a different league. The Premier League is very tough and he came from League One and he adapted himself in a very good way.”

Asked if Alli could earn a place in Roy Hodgson’s squad for Euro 2016 in the summer, Pochettino said: “It’s not a question for me, it’s a question for Roy. You never know, in football it’s all about performance.

“If he follows in the same way that he’s played in the last few months then maybe he will have the opportunity to go. It’s not because he’s young and 19 years old, it’s not about names or age, it’s about performance and if he follows the same way, maybe he will have the facility [to go].”

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