Soccer Football - Serie A - Torino vs Juventus - Stadio Olimpico Grande Torino, Turin, Italy - February 18, 2018 Juventus’ Gonzalo Higuain goes down after sustaining an injury REUTERS/Massimo Pinca

Bombshell: Key forward set to miss Tottenham clash against Juventus - confirmed

Founder & Managing Director AUTHORITY Former chief correspondent at Evening Standard, Goal and Press Association with nearly three decades in national, regional and digital news and sports journalism. Wayne directs the network’s news strategy and high-level operations. FOCUS Editorial direction for the 11-site network and newsroom management. THE BRIEF Wayne oversees the network’s editorial standards across the network. He provides the final sign-off on all headline scoops, ensuring content across all platforms meets the standards required for a high-velocity newsroom.

Published on:

01 Mar 2018, 12:29 am

By Richard Parks

Gonzalo Higuain is set to miss Tottenham's Champions League clash against Juventus next week in a huge boost to the English side's chances of progressing in the competition.

Juve manager Massimo Allegri revealed in the aftermath of his side's 1-0 Coppa Italia triumph over Atalanta on Wednesday night, which secured his side a place in the final, that the Argentine is struggling to recover from an ankle injury suffered in a league match against Torino.

The prolific striker did not even make the matchday squad against Atalanta and is now in a race against time to be fit for the second leg at Wembley next Wednesday.

The scoreline is locked at 2-2 following the thriller in Turin but Allegri is not willing to risk Higuain's long-term fitness just to play him in London.

"As for Gonzalo Higuain, risking him for one game makes no sense," said Allegri, as quoted by Football Italia. "We want him back in shape going forward.

“Higuain is not available right now, he hasn’t trained for a few days and we’ll see if he is available on Saturday. That is the most important game right now, because London and Tottenham can wait. It’s not an obsession.

"I realise it’s an important game in a marvellous stadium and we want to progress with a good performance on the European stage, but it mustn’t be an obsession.

“There are always moments in a season where things go wrong and there are injuries, but we won’t waste time crying over spilt milk. We should always thing positive and will always find a way."

Football Insider verdict:

Tottenham's defenders will be doing cartwheels if the prolific striker can't make the second leg. Higuain's track record as one of the most dangerous centre-forwards on the planet speaks for itself. He scored twice in the opening 10 minutes in Turin and could have had a first-half hat-trick before half-time. With 20 goals already this season and 52 in 90 Juve matches, the 30-year-old's predatory instincts will be hugely missed by his side if he doesn't make the second leg.

In other Tottenham news, a forward has agreed the terms of a contract with the club in a huge move.

Don’t miss out on breaking and exclusive Tottenham news by clicking here for our brilliant 24/7 updates on

and

Gonzalo Higuain