Kieran Trippier is still waiting to learn the extent of the damage to his ankle after undergoing a scan on Tuesday.
The club’s medical staff are trying to establish whether Trippier has tweaked ligaments and, if so, the severity of the problem. At this stage it would, however, be a surprise to see him in the Tottenham starting XI for Sunday’s Premier League opener at Newcastle.
Trippier sustained the injury during Spurs’ pre-season friendly win over Juventus at Wembley last Saturday.
The 26-year-old is the only senior right-back at Spurs who is trusted by boss Mauricio Pochettino, who has said that youngster Kyle Walker-Peters is not yet ready to play regular first-team football at the top level.
Trippier’s scan was originally scheduled for Monday but was delayed to allow the swelling around the ankle to subside.
Over the weekend, the England international had been optimistic about a quick recovery but the full picture is yet to emerge. Even now, Trippier is said to be reasonably happy with how the ankle feels.
If – as expected – Trippier cannot feature at Newcastle, and Tottenham do not sign a right-back before the weekend, Eric Dier would be favourite to slot into that role.
Spurs have yet to sign a player this summer and boss Mauricio Pochettino told Sky Sports: “We need to bring new energy and strengthen our squad, everyone knows that.
"If you look at the history of Tottenham in the last few years, we always spend at the end of the window.”
