Jose Mourinho has hailed the strength of Serge Aurier, revealing he asked to play against Newcastle following the shocking death of his brother just two days ago.
The Tottenham boss also confirmed the defender will travel back to France tomorrow to spend time with his family.
Aurier's brother Christopher was shot dead outside of a nightclub in Toulouse in the early hours on Monday morning, with French police confirming they are looking for his killer.
Mourinho revealed Aurier was a doubt to play against Newcastle in his pre-match press conference, announcing Tottenham were ready to support any decision the Ivorian made.
Aurier decided he was ready to play against Newcastle, however, as Tottenham look to move into sixth place following an impressive 2-1 win against Arsenal on Sunday.
"It's a strong decision from him," Mourinho told BT Sport. "We would always support him.
"If he decided not to play until the end of the season, we would respect that.
"I think every person has different ways to face tragedies like this one and he asked us to play.
"And then asked for tomorrow to go to France to see his mum, which of course we fully support."
