Erik Lamela has been named in the starting XI for Argentina's World Cup qualifier against Venezuela on Tuesday, raising the prospect of his new Tottenham Hotspur teammate Moussa Sissoko making his debut for the club against Stoke City on Saturday.
Sissoko has not featured domestically this season after joining Spurs from Newcastle for £30 million on transfer deadline day but played half an hour in France's friendly win against Italy on Friday, and is expected to feature in Tuesday's World Cup qualifier in Belarus.
The 27-year-old is likely to replace Erik Lamela for Spurs after the winger was named in Argentina's XI to play Venezuela, which kicks off at 12.30am BST on Wednesday morning.
#ArgentinaEnVenezuela Edgardo Bauza confirmó la formación de @Argentina para enfrentar a la Vinotinto. pic.twitter.com/wvZKtL9HtQ
- Selección Argentina (@Argentina) September 5, 2016
Lamela replaces Lionel Messi, who picked up a groin strain during his goal-scoring return to the national team in last week's 1-0 win over neighbours Uruguay in 2018 World Cup qualifying.
A club source confirmed to ESPN FC that he does not return to the UK until Thursday, and is expected to train once with the team, on Friday, before the match at the Bet365 Stadium.
Son Heung-Min is another a candidate to start at Stoke after he missed South Korea's World Cup qualifier against Syria in Malaysia on Tuesday to return to Tottenham.
Speaking after Spurs' 1-1 draw with Liverpool last month, and before the signing of Sissoko, Pochettino said he wanted a forward who could offer something different to Lamela, Christian Eriksen and Son.
"We need a player who is more direct, more aggressive offensively," Pochettino said. "Because we have players like Eriksen, Son or Lamela who like the ball played into their feet.
"So we need someone who has characteristics like we saw from Liverpool, like Sadio Mane, the type of player that can break the defensive line. I'm not talking about kicking or punching someone, only running and having the right mentality."