Leicester vs Tottenham: Mauricio Pochettino plays down concerns over Ryan Mason injury

Midfielder should be fit to play at the King Power Stadium

Mauricio Pochettino has played down fears over Ryan Mason’s ankle injury, saying that the Tottenham Hotspur midfielder is “stronger than he believes”.

Mason is enjoying his best season at Spurs, having started 12 Premier League games already, although he was forced off with a painful ankle injury on Saturday against Burnley.

Pochettino, though, confirmed at his pre-match press conference today that it was nothing serious and that he was in contention to play at Leicester City on Boxing Day.

“He got a knock and twisted his ankle,” Pochettino said, “he suffered a lot of pain but no damage, luckily, to his ligament.”

“Maybe on Wednesday he will start training in a normal way with the group. It was lucky because the problem wasn’t bad. Maybe he could play on Boxing Day, it is possible that he is ready.”

Keeping Mason fit has been one of Pochettino’s successes so far, after injuries have spoiled much of the 23-year-old’s career so far. “He is strong,” Pochettino said, “more so than he believes. We show him that he has improved his physical condition from the beginning of the season.”

The consistent form, and his strong partnership with Nabil Bentaleb in midfield has been one of the foundations of Spurs’ recent improvement.

“I think that is a merit from the club and the staff because the first thing is you believe in the player,” Pochettino explained. “It’s good that the players feels the confidence.”