Tottenham's Dele Alli 'out for a few weeks' with twisted knee

Tottenham Hotspur manager Mauricio Pochettino was unable to call upon Dele Alli for Sunday's crunch match at Arsenal after the midfielder twisted his knee during Saturday's training session.

By the Argentinian manager's estimation, Alli will be unavailable for England's World Cup qualification clash with Scotland next Friday, and then a friendly visit from Spain the following Tuesday.

When Spurs return to domestic duty after the international break, Alli's involvement in Nov. 19's hosting of West Ham United and the vital trip to AS Monaco in the Champions League three days later is in jeopardy.

"Bad luck yesterday in the training session, he twisted his knee. We need to assess him today and tomorrow," Pochettino told the club's media team before kick-off.

"He'll be out for a few weeks. We hope it's not a big issue. It's bad luck he was in the team he's an important player but that's football."

The timing of Alli's issue was not ideal given that Erik Lamela was also absent through injury for the north London derby, and Harry Kane and Mousa Dembele were playing despite recent concerns over their fitness. Moussa Sissoko was serving the last game in a three-match ban.

With these depleted options, Pochettino set up Spurs in a narrow midfield of Victor Wanyama, Dembele, Heung-Min Son and Christian Eriksen, with Danny Rose and Kyle Walker bursting forward from their full-back roles to join attacks.