Tottenham fear defender Jan Vertonghen could be ruled out of the entire Christmas fixture list.
Vertonghen is anxiously waiting for the results of further tests on the ankle injury that kept him out of Saturday’s victory over Sunderland.
There is concern the Belgium international may be out for over a month, with Spurs facing a gruelling schedule of tough matches.
Vertonghen suffered the injury when he rolled his right ankle in the closing stages of last week’s victory over Fulham.
Tottenham entertain in-form Liverpool on Sunday, ahead of the Capital One Cup quarter-final clash against West Ham. They face Manchester United on New Year’s Day and were drawn against Arsenal in the FA Cup on January 4.
With Vertonghen out and Younes Kaboul missing, Spurs boss Andre Villas-Boas was forced to use midfielder Etienne Capoue as a makeshift central defender at Sunderland.
apoue performed well, but Villas-Boas will be acutely aware that Vertonghen would be sorely missed during such an important stage of the season.
One boost for Spurs and Villas-Boas is that left-back Danny Rose, who Vertonghen had been forced to fill in for, is close to returning from a toe injury.
Rose has been missing since September 19 and Villas-Boas must decide whether to risk him against Anzhi Makhachkala in the Europa League on Thursday night or Liverpool in the Premier League.
Written by Steve Milne – Have your say below
