Mousa Dembele’s international break has largely been a waste of time, aside from getting to meet up with his Belgium teammates. The Tottenham midfielder hasn’t been training with the other players and has spent the week stuck on an individual regime.
However, it may be considered a little strange that Dembele wasn’t able to train all week for the same reason, and has now returned to Tottenham.
Martinez has confirmed Dembele is out of the Estonia match, and is quoted by De Morgen explaining: “Mousa is struggling with muscle stiffness and we let him return to his club. He is certainly not seriously injured, but not 100 percent fit.”
A player spending a whole week out with muscle stiffness after a match is surely a worrying scenario for Mauricio Pochettino, but at least Martinez isn’t gambling with Dembele’s fitness, as perhaps Marc Wilmots may have done.
