Tottenham defender declares himself fit to play in North London derby

Toby Alderweireld insists he is ready to play in Saturday’s North London derby after overcoming his hamstring problem.

The Belgium international has not featured in the Premier League since the end of October but marked his return from a three-month absence in Wednesday’s FA Cup replay win over Newport County.

Tottenham’s tough run of fixtures continues this weekend with the North London derby against Arsenal and Alderweireld has declared himself fit and ready to feature for Mauricio Pochettino’s side.

“Yeah, I feel very good," he told Sky Sports. "After 90 minutes, I worked very hard to play those kind of games and be ready and I feel very good.

“This has been the longest ever [lay-off of my career], it was a little bit unfortunate there was a tear in the tendon, not only the muscle, and it just takes time.

“We had to do that time and work very hard. It’s difficult. It was a proper hamstring injury and the risk of re-tearing it was very big.

“That’s why we took our time and worked very hard so my muscles are ready for this type of game and to play a lot of games again.”

Tottenham have only collected 29 points from a possible 48 in the league in the time Alderweireld has been sidelined and his return is a huge boost for Pochettino’s side, although it’s unlikely he will start at Wembley on Saturday.

No outfielder completes more long balls per game in the Premier League this season than Alderweireld (9.1).