Injury report: Dortmund dealt quadruple blow ahead of Tottenham clash

As was the case on Tuesday night, there are some star names conspicuous by their absence ahead of Wednesday’s fixtures, with big blows to both Tottenham and Borussia Dortmund in particular.

Ajax vs Real Madrid

The big injury news ahead of Real Madrid’s trip to Amsterdam is whether Frankie de Jong, soon to become a rival of los blancos at Barcelona, is fit to start for the hosts. The 21-year-old was forced off in the shock defeat to Heracles at the weekend with a knock, though Erik ten Hag is likely to call upon his pace setter in the middle of the park given the magnitude of the game.

The only certain absentee for the Eredivisie giants is fellow youngster Carel Eiting, though January signing Lisandro Magallan is also set to miss out. Should De Jong miss out, Donny van de Beek may be asked to play in the holding role, with Hakim Ziyech or David Neres - who could well come into the side as the Dutch international’s replacement - moving into a deeper position.

As far as the visitors are concerned, Santiago Solari has named his 23-man squad, with Marcos Llorente missing the cut and Isco not risked following an injury, though the playmaker has fallen out of favour of late regardless. Gareth Bale and Lucas Vazquez are set to compete for the spot on the right of the front three, while youngster Sergio Reguilon is in favour ahead of Marcelo.

Tottenham vs Borussia Dortmund

There are significant injury blows to both teams as they prepare for their Wembley showdown, with Danny Rose the latest player to pick up an injury for the hosts. The left-back is set to be named in the squad but Mauricio Pochettino has claimed that it is ‘impossible’ that the England international will start. That’s a big blow, with Spurs having dropped just two points from a possible 36 in the 12 league matches Rose has started this season.

With Ben Davies sidelined, Jan Vertonghen could fill in on the left, with Kyle Walker-Peters perhaps unlikely to be thrown into the deep end once more having struggled at Barcelona.

Eric Dier has returned to training, though whether he is fit to start is unclear, which is also true of Erik Lamela. Meanwhile Dele Alli and Harry Kane remain sidelined, so Pochettino must decide whether to field the in-form Hueng-Min Son up front on his own or partner the South Korean with Fernando Llorente.

The visitors, meanwhile, may be even more depleted, with Marco Reus losing his race against time to return from injury. The Dortmund captain has been in fine form all season and will be missed, while Lukasz Piszczek (foot), Julian Weigl (illness) and Paco Alcacer (shoulder) have all missed the trip to London.

With that in mind Dortmund are set for a significant re-jig, with fit again Dan-Axel Zagadou in line for his first appearance since the December 1st, Raphael Guerreiro and Maximilian Philipp all likely to feature. Elsewhere Jacob Bruun Larsen and Christian Pulisic may compete for the spot on the opposite flank to teen sensation Jadon Sancho, who delayed the team’s flight to his homeland having forgotten his passport!