Tottenham Hotspur youngster Kota Takai could face a sideline after missing training at Borussia Monchengladbach on Monday.
The Rhineische Post covered the situation around the 21-year-old today He joined the German club's absentees list as the week began.
They are preparing for the home game against St Pauli on Friday, which could come too soon for the Tottenham loanee.
He missed his last game, his second in a row, due to a strain. That strain also kept the 21-year-old out of training on Monday. In fact, there is clearly some concern about it, with Spurs themselves now getting involved.
tottenham evaluation
Kota Takai has flown back to London so Tottenham can conduct 'further examinations' on the problem.
The youngster is unlikely to be fit for Friday's game, and coach Eugen Polanski has confirmed there is currently no timeline for his return.
"He was racing on Saturday," He said.
"If he can't train individually with the ball on the pitch today, maybe it won't be enough. But I'm happy to be proven wrong."
january loan
Takai has been a regular player for the German team since joining on loan from Tottenham in the January transfer window.
Since then he has made six appearances, appearing in 37% of the available minutes and starting 30% of the games. However, he has now missed back-to-back matches – a defeat to Bayern Munich and a win over Union Berlin.
And now he looks set for a third consecutive absence due to an undisclosed 'strain'. He has even been seen heading back to Tottenham for treatment and assessment.
Taking this much trouble may reveal that the injury may be worse than first feared. Or at least one that could keep him out longer than Gladbach expected.
Polanski is certainly hoping this is only a short-term injury, and perhaps he'll have Takai back soon.
