LONDON -- Mousa Dembele is a doubt for Tottenham Hotspur's visit to West Bromwich Albion on Saturday following the recurrence of a foot injury in training.
The Belgian, who was forced to withdraw from international duty last week, suffered a stamp to his left foot -- the same one he injured against Everton in August 2015 -- and manager Mauricio Pochettino said he is now having trouble using it.
Dembele missed Tottenham's first four matches of the season through suspension before limping off with a hamstring injury against Sunderland on Sept. 18 in his first start.
"He had a minor problem in his hamstring against Sunderland," Pochettino told a news conference. "Then it was good but he got a knock in his foot in training -- an old problem -- and now he's recovering from that. It's minor but it's painful for him. When he touches the ball, it's painful."
Asked if he would be available for the trip to the Hawthorns, Pochettino said: "We need to assess him too. We have another day tomorrow to see if he can be available. It depends on how he feels tomorrow.
"We have a few issues from international duty too. We'll assess today and tomorrow, and make a decision on those players."
Pochettino had better news on the injury front, revealing that Harry Kane would return to light training next week but he again refused to put a timeframe on the striker's return to the team.
Kane was stretchered off after scoring the winner against Sunderland and scans revealed ankle ligament damage to his right foot.
"Harry Kane is still out. He's doing very well but he's not ready yet," Pochettino said. "At the end of this week, he can start to train on the grass a little. He's very positive, he's doing well. We don't know when he'll play again. We can only explain that he's doing well. Next week we hope he'll be training on the pitch -- not with the group -- but we're happy."
Spurs have won just once in six matches against the Baggies and both meetings between the clubs finished 1-1 last season, with the draw at White Hart Lane in April leaving Spurs seven points behind Leicester with three matches remaining.
Unbeaten Spurs go into Saturday's match off the back of a brilliant 2-0 win over leaders Manchester City but he warned that this weekend's game could be even tougher.
"Now we must be clever and we need to understand that it will be a tough game, maybe more difficult than Manchester City. If we're not focused, or if we don't play with the same intensity, the same passion I think that we will suffer a lot against a team that is very physical and strong. In the Premier League you can never play 80 or 70 percent of your capacity, you always need to be 100 percent."
Nacer Chadli joined West Brom from Tottenham for a club-record £13 million in August and Pochettino said he would have liked to keep the Belgian, who has scored three goals in four appearances for his new club.
"It was clear with him -- he asked me before the end of last season if he had the possibility to go and play more for another team. I said to him 'you're in my plans but if you want to leave for the right club, the right price it's not a problem.' In the end both clubs arrived at a deal and he decided to move to West Brom."