The Argentine returned to the Tottenham Hotspur first-team squad on Tuesday.
Spurs boss Mauricio Pochettino sat down for his pre-match press conference today ahead of his side’s trip to Watford on Saturday, and responded to a question asking him what Erik Lamela will bring to the team, as quoted by popular football news website Football.London.
The Argentine made his first appearance for Tottenham in over a year, when he was introduced as a late substitute during their 2-1 defeat at Leicester City on Tuesday night, and he looked in great shape, considering the length of time he has spent on the sidelines.
The Lilywhites have been on a terrible run of form in the Premier League of late, taking just one point from their last three outings, so the 25-year-old’s return will surely be a huge boost for Pochettino and his team.
And the 45-year-old told reporters how it will be vitally important for Lamela not to be rushed back to action, after spending 13 months away from first-team action, as quoted by Football.London:
“We trust in him and believe that he can add to the team different options to play and different qualities. But we need to take it step by step, we need to be careful. After more than one year not being involved with the team competing, it’s slowly, step by step by need to build his confidence. Of course it’s completely different to training.”
Spurs travel to Vicarage Road to take on Watford on Saturday, and nothing less than three points will do, as Pochettino’s men look to put their recent run of poor results behind them as soon as possible.
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