A light hearted Mauricio Pochettino used the embargoed section of his press conference yesterday to confirm that Nicolas Jackson was rejoining the group today directly from the Africa Cup of Nations, and would try to be on the bench for the game against Liverpool tonight.
It’s a great unexpected boost for the coach after Senegal were knocked out in the round of 16 by Ivory Coast, giving Pochettino a new option for tonight’s Premier League clash.
Jackson won’t start on a day where he’s flying around the world, that’s for sure, but he’s not picked up too many minutes and, jet lag aside, should be ready to go. Pochettino joked that the striker could join the match by parachute if that made things any easier:
“If it means we have a one per cent more chance to win the game for sure we will try it! But I don’t know if he is brave enough to jump.”
He also noted Inaki Williams’ impact for Athletic Bilbao after returning from Ghana duty last week:
“We are waiting. All I can say is that maybe he will be there. The other day Ghana lost and were out and Inaki Williams arrived a few hours before and played in the second half to beat Barcelona in the Copa del Rey. Why can’t Jackson arrive and score the winning goal?”
By the sounds of things, the wait for Jackson’s return is already over.
