Jose Mourinho expects Lucas Moura and Carlos Vinicus to be fit for Saturday’s Premier League clash against Leeds United, confirming both forwards have trained this week.
The Brazilian duo didn’t feature against Wolves on December 27 and were declared unavailable for the subsequently cancelled clash against Fulham three days later, but are now back in contention.
Lucas has made just four Premier League starts this season and last featured in the 3-1 Carabao Cup quarter-final victory over Stoke, while Vinicius hasn’t played since the 2-0 win over Royal Antwerp on December 10 in Spurs final Europa League group stage game.
With concerns over Tottenham’s attacking efficiency beyond Harry Kane and Son Heung-min, and the build-up of games on those two, Lucas and Vinicius could have a role to play in the coming weeks.
“I believe so, I believe they can,” Mourinho said, when asked about their availability. “Of course today (Friday) we still have to train still.
“(A) training session before a game is always important for these little things, but I think so and I think everything going well and I expect them to be ready.”
Spurs have scored three goals in their last four Premier League matches, failing to hit the target more than once against Liverpool, Crystal Palace and Wolves and goalless in their 2-0 loss to Leicester City.
Mourinho’s pragmatic approach has been cited as a possible reason for why they’re struggling to consistently hurt teams, but the Portuguese claims he hasn’t found a coherent reason for the problem.
In fairness, Spurs haven’t been big goalscorers this season, anyway, ranking eighth for goals for (26), 14th for shots per game (10.7) and 10th for total expected goals (21.67).
“It's difficult to say, probably a bit of everything,” Mourinho added. “Probably a bit of lack of sharpness in some of the players with more miles in their legs, possibly because the war for points is becoming harder and harder and organisations privileged that security.
“I honestly don't know what to say.”
