'He'll be involved': Tottenham manager Ange Postecoglou confirms 21-year-old will play against Everton

Tottenham manager Ange Postecoglou says midfielder Pape Matar Sarr is back in London and will be involved when they travel to Goodison this weekend to play Everton. Sarr has been in the Ivory Coast with Senegal for the AFCON in the last two weeks, but their shock elimination at the round of 16 means Spurs now have an unexpected boost for this weekend's league game. 

The 21-year-old midfielder is a mainstay in Postecoglou's team and the Spurs boss admitted he's returned to training this weekend. He told the press: "Everyone got through the other night ok so no issues, obviously a short turnaround so the lads still recovering from that, so we haven't really done too much training-wise but they all feel good. 

"And obviously Pape Sarr's back. He had a long trip back so we'll assess him after training. Fair to say he'll be involved but I'm not sure to what extent." 

The Lilywhites returned to the top four of the Premier League table for the first time this year after a 3-2 win over London rivals Brentford in midweek. They had to do it the hard way though, after Brentford took the lead before threatening to fight back again at the end. 

They will travel to Goodison hoping to strengthen their grip on fourth place, but the Spurs boss says it's a tough place to visit and they'll have to be their best. He added: "Yeah it can and it's a tough venue. The supporters there really get behind their team. Even though their results have dropped off a bit recently, even when they played us here it was a really tough game. It's going to be a physical game. 

"We're going to have to be up for those kind of things. It's a short turnaround, with the lunchtime kick-off after a Wednesday night game, all those things are potential impediments for us performing but again, going back to my earlier answer, those are the kind of challenges the players have risen to in showing the character and belief. We've gone to some pretty tough venues away from home and we've performed pretty well. We're going to have to again because it's going to be a tough game."

Tottenham lost their chance of winning silverware this season after crashing out of the League Cup and FA Cup but securing Champions League football will be seen as a huge progress.