Tottenham manager Mauricio Pochettino has revealed Dele Alli is playing with an injury in an effort to help the north Londoners' title push.
The 19-year-old picked up an ankle injury during his side's warm-up prior to last weekend's win against Swansea and is also suffering with a knee problem.
Alli was only fit enough to feature as a substitute against West Ham in midweek but returned to the starting line-up for Saturday's 2-2 draw with Arsenal.
The midfielder has made 27 top-flight appearances this season - the fourth highest total for an outfield player at Spurs - and Pochettino has conceded Alli is battling through the pain barrier.
"He is an incredible athlete, yes. But he is not a machine. He has a problem in his ankle and knee," Pochettino told the Daily Mail.
"We have different plans for different players, we analyse the minutes they play and how they are."
Alli is not the only member of Pochettino's squad whose fitness is being closely managed by the Argentina coach and his staff.
"We are managing Alli, but not only him. We have a lot of players who are young and in their first or second season in the Premier League.
"It’s very tough and we spend a lot of time analysing to find information to give the best training sessions or recovery."
Tottenham's intense fixture schedule is set to continue this week as they travel to Germany to face Borussia Dortmund in the Europa League on Thursday before a domestic clash against Aston Villa three days later.
