Amsterdam: Ajax are hopeful David Neres will be fit for their Champions League semi-final second leg against Tottenham Hotspur, with coach Erik ten Hag admitting there was “a small question mark” surrounding the fitness of the talented Brazilian winger.
“There is perhaps a small problem with David, but he will train and we expect him to play,” Ten Hag said at a press conference on Tuesday at the Johan Cruyff Arena.
Neres, who scored a brilliant equaliser in the 1-1 draw at home to Juventus in the quarter-finals and hit the post late in the first leg against Tottenham, came on as a second-half substitute in the Dutch Cup final at the weekend as Ajax beat Willem II 4-0 in Rotterdam.
It was the first leg of a potential treble for the Amsterdam side, who are top of the Dutch Eredivisie and hoping to reach the Champions League final for the first time since 1996.
They have already dumped out the holders, Real Madrid, and beaten Juventus to reach this stage, and now they are hoping to finish the job against Spurs.
“The intensity against a Premier League team is a little different, but we experienced that before against Juventus and Real. The team has the ability to adapt to playing at a higher level and we have to make that step up again,” added Ten Hag.
There are likely to be a few changes to Ten Hag’s line-up for Wednesday’s game after the Cup final, when veteran striker Klaas-Jan Huntelaar was one of those to come into their team.
