Tottenham Hotspur manager Ange Postecoglou has confirmed that Ben Davies will not be available for Sunday's Premier League fixture with Wolverhampton Wanderers, while Radu Dragusin is still a doubt.
Davies has missed each of Spurs' last six matches with a hamstring problem, which he picked up in the 1-0 loss to Bournemouth on December 5, and Postecoglou conceded at first that the prognosis was not promising.
However, the Australian then had a more positive update to share on the Welshman's fitness earlier this month, revealing that his problem was not as severe as first feared, and there was a slim chance that he would be fit for the Wolves match on December 29.
Speaking in Friday's pre-game press conference, though, Postecoglou revealed that the 31-year-old had suffered a small complication in training, and Spurs are unlikely to have him back until the middle of January.
"No, he's ruled out," Postecoglou said when asked if Davies would feature on Sunday. "Unfortunately he had a setback in training so he's probably out for another couple of weeks."
Dragusin update delivered ahead of Djed Spence suspension
The absences of Davies, Cristian Romero and Micky van de Ven saw Postecoglou deploy a central pairing of Radu Dragusin and Archie Gray in Tottenham's Boxing Day clash with Nottingham Forest, where they fell to a 1-0 defeat.
Postecoglou suffered another double defensive blow towards the end of that loss at the City Ground, as Dragusin was forced off with an ankle injury in the dying embers before Djed Spence was sent off in injury time.
The latter will serve his one-match suspension this weekend, and Postecoglou admitted that he was still in the dark about the severity of Dragusin's injury, adding: "A bit early to tell.
"He obviously tweaked his ankle last night and felt like he couldn't continue. We'll just have to wait and see when he comes in today and assess it from there. From a physical perspective, tired bodies but apart from that no other issues."
Spurs will also be missing Richarlison, Wilson Odobert and Guglielmo Vicario for the visit of Vitor Pereira's side, where Postecoglou may have no other option but to deploy two teenagers in defence.
Who could replace Dragusin in Wolves match?
Dragusin sitting out the visit of Wolves would deprive Postecoglou of every single one of his senior centre-back options, and the only other natural fit in that position is 19-year-old Alfie Dorrington.
The teenager made his senior debut for the Lilywhites off the bench in their 5-0 thrashing of Southampton two weekends ago, although he did not make the matchday squad at the City Ground.
It is not clear whether Dorrington's absence was injury-related, but if fit, the 2005-born prospect will be a genuine contender to partner Gray in a centre-back duo that would have a combined age of just 37.
With Dorrington not in the squad on Thursday, Yves Bissouma replaced the stricken Dragusin for the final few moments, and both the Mali midfielder and Rodrigo Bentancur could also act as makeshift centre-backs in an emergency.
Tottenham sit 11th in the Premier League table following Sunday's reverse at the hands of former boss Nuno Espirito Santo, their fourth loss from their last five Premier League matches. body check tags ::
