Dele Alli's joke gesture with Kyle Walker 'unlucky' to have been caught on camera, insists Mauricio Pochettino

The Tottenham manager has defended his player who was caught on TV raising his middle finger during England's recent 2-1 win over Slovakia

Dele Alli was caught raising his middle finger during England's win over Slovakia (REX)

Mauricio Pochettino has reiterated Dele Alli’s claim that his middle-finger gesture towards Kyle Walker during England’s win over Slovakia was intended as a joke – though the Tottenham manager believes his player was “unlucky” to have been caught doing so on camera.

Alli was captured on live TV raising his middle finger in the direction of both Walker and the match’s referee, Clerment Turpin, though the midfielder insisted after the 2-1 victory that he was simply engaging in a private joke with his former Tottenham teammate.

The incident has raised further questions over Alli’s temperament as a player – the midfielder has a history of poor on-pitch discipline – but Pochettino has leapt to the defence of the 21-year-old.

Speaking ahead of Tottenham’s trip to Everton this weekend, the Spurs boss insisted that Alli’s recent behaviour has been “fantastic”.

“Dele Alli has improved a lot from last season and his behaviour is fantastic,” he said on Thursday.

“That was a joke with a team mate. He was unlucky because the camera recorded that moment.

"I’m not worried. He told the media afterwards it was a joke with Kyle Walker. There’s a lot of things worse than that situation.

"It’s true it’s not a fantastic gesture but it’s not a big issue. I don’t think it’ll be a big issue with Fifa or with us.

"I remember when I was a player, worse things happened on the pitch but today there’s a lot of cameras, maybe 50 cameras, and we’re so focused on the players. He doesn’t deserve to be banned by Fifa."

England manager Gareth Southgate adopted a similar view on the matter, claiming that Alli and Walker had simply been “mucking about”.

“Kyle and Dele were mucking about, and Dele's made a gesture towards Kyle,” Southgate said after Monday’s win. “I don't know what the angle of the pitch is. The pair of them have a strange way of communicating, but that's what they've said when it's been raised.”

Pochettino also confirmed that Erik Lamela, who is undergoing rehabilitation for a long-term hip injury, would return to first-team training at the start of October.

"We expect early October to join the team and to start the possibility to join the team and train every day. We are happy.”

Lamela is one of four Tottenham players unavailable for Saturday’s clash with the Toffees, alongside Georges-Kevin N’Koudou, Danny Rose and Victor Wanyama.