Tottenham Hotspur's defensive crisis worsened in their 1-0 Premier League loss to Nottingham Forest on Boxing Day, as Djed Spence was sent off while Radu Dragusin sustained an ankle injury.
The Lilywhites travelled to the City Ground already missing several rearguard cornerstones, as Ben Davies, Guglielmo Vicario, Cristian Romero and Micky van de Ven are still sidelined with fitness problems.
As a result, Dragusin and Archie Gray paired up in defence once more, although Destiny Udogie was at least fit enough to return to his rightful position on the left-hand side of defence.
Rather than keep faith with Pedro Porro on the right-hand side, Ange Postecoglou persisted with Spence, who has been earning his stars under the Australian thanks to some stellar displays of late.
However, the former Nottingham Forest loanee's evening ended in disaster at his old home, as he hacked down Jota Silva while already on a yellow card and was made to take the walk of shame by Craig Pawson.
Spence to miss Wolverhampton Wanderers clash as Dragusin update delivered
A sending-off for two bookable offences means that Spence has a one-game to serve, and the full-back will therefore be unavailable for the Lilywhites' Premier League game at home to Wolverhampton Wanderers on December 29.
Also doubtful for the visit of Vitor Pereira's men is Dragusin, the only fit senior centre-back in Tottenham's squad right now, as the Romania international hurt his ankle in the closing stages and was replaced by Yves Bissouma.
Offering a vague update to journalists in his post-game press conference, Postecoglou said: "He was a bit sore. He hurt his ankle and said he couldn't continue so we'll just have to wait and see."
Anthony Elanga scored the decisive goal at the City Ground, as Forest boss Nuno Espirito Santo got one over the club that sacked him just 17 games into his tenure in the 2021-22 season.
While Forest have now risen back into the top three of the Premier League table, Tottenham remain in the bottom half of the standings, a whopping 10 points below Arsenal in the final Champions League spot.
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Spence's one-game ban does not give Postecoglou a huge dilemma to solve in defence; the dropped Porro should be a straight swap for his suspended teammate on the right-hand side of the backline.
However, if one of Porro or Udogie gets injured either before or during that game, Postecoglou will likely have no choice but to bring Sergio Reguilon out of exile and give him his first Premier League minutes of the season.
The situation is far more complicated at the heart of defence, though, as Romero and Van de Ven will certainly not be back for Sunday's game, while Davies and Dragusin's availability is up in the air.
Should neither of the latter two make the cut, 18-year-old Gray may be partnered by fellow teenager Alfie Dorrington, the 19-year-old centre-back who has been in and around the first team in recent months.
Dorrington made his senior Spurs debut as a late substitute in their 5-0 win at Southampton a couple of weeks ago, but he was not in the matchday squad for Thursday's defeat.
