Mauricio Pochettino provides fitness update on Tottenham Hotspur defender Toby Alderweireld

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Alderweireld has not played for Tottenham since November’s Champions League win over Real Madrid.

Tottenham Hotspur manager Mauricio Pochettino remains cautious over the fitness of Toby Alderweireld after the defender returned to training this week.

The Belgian has missed the last three months with a serious hamstring strain but told Sky Sports earlier this week that he was ready to make his comeback.

However, Pochettino has revealed that Alderweireld remains under the careful watch of Tottenham’s medical team, and is yet to decide if he will play against Newport County in the third round of the FA Cup on Saturday.

“We need to assess him tomorrow,” Pochettino told his press conference on Thursday, according to Sky Sports. “He was integrated today and today was his third with the team.

“We need to assess everyone tomorrow and then decide.

“One thing is to be fit to be integrated in the team, another is to be fit to play. They are two completely different things and we need to care about everyone and then to take the best decision for the team.”

Alderweireld experienced a similar layoff, with a knee injury, last season and was steadily restored to action with 22 minutes against CSKA Moscow before making his first start.

Pochettino will want the 28-year-old match fit for a crucial run of upcoming games against Manchester United, Liverpool and Arsenal so may follow that poly and reintroduce him against Newport first.

Alderweireld makes a huge difference to Tottenham’s fortunes. In 22 matches without him, Spurs average 1.55 points per game compared to 2.28 points per game in his last 40 Premier League appearances.