Kieran Trippier could return to Tottenham squad for Wembley derby against Chelsea

Tottenham Hotspur defender Kieran Trippier could return to action on Sunday (20 August) as Mauricio Pochettino's side meet defending champions Chelsea in their first home Premier League encounter to be held at Wembley Stadium.

The 26-year-old, now considered as Spurs' undisputed first-choice right-back following the high-profile sale of Kyle Walker to Manchester City, missed last weekend's 2-0 victory over Newcastle United after limping out of the first half of a final pre-season meeting with Juventus due to an ankle injury.

Trippier was subsequently sent for a scan and it was later revealed that he had suffered only minor ligament damage.

Despite reports suggesting that the former City and Burnley full-back would perhaps not be in a position to play until a post-international break trip to Everton on 9 September, Spurs claim that he is progressing well and will be assessed tomorrow to determine his availability for Chelsea.

Mauricio Pochettino subsequently informed reporters that Trippier would probably return to the squad for an eagerly-anticipated London derby, although it seems likely that 20-year-old academy graduate Kyle Walker-Peters will retain his starting role after scooping man of the match honours on his senior competitive debut at St James' Park.

Speaking at a pre-match press conference on Friday, the manager said: "He (Walker-Peters) was fantastic but he is still young. Maybe the decision is to put Trippier in the squad and play Kyle Walker-Peters.

"We are very happy with the evolution of Kieran and he will (likely) be in the squad. Then it is my decision if he plays or not."

While Trippier looks set to be welcomed back into the fold, Tottenham remain without Danny Rose, Erik Lamela and Georges-Kevin Nkoudou for the visit of Antonio Conte's troubled champions.

Rose, who recently apologised for his "ill-judged" comments regarding the club's transfer policy and wage structure, suffered a serious left knee injury in January and underwent exploratory surgery four months later. He is not expected to return until September.

Fellow long-term absentee Lamela has not played at all in 2017 and had operations on both hips in the space of six weeks. The Argentine winger is believed to be hopeful of featuring again in October, by which time it will have been almost a full year since his last competitive appearance.

Nkoudou showed signs of promise during pre-season after failing to register much of an impact in his first campaign following a £9m ($11.5m) switch from Marseille, although has frustratingly seen his progress stunted by a lingering foot problem.