Tottenham full-back Danny Rose unable to train as knee injury threatens to derail January exit.

Tottenham Hotspur defender Danny Rose's hopes of joining Manchester United during the January transfer window could be over after his manager Mauricio Pochettino admitted the England international is currently finding it "impossible" to train having suffered the recurrence of a knee injury.

The 27-year-old missed the 2-0 win at Swansea City [2 January] despite having complete the full 90 minutes against Southampton on Boxing Day, and was replaced by Ben Davies for the success at the Liberty Stadium which saw Spurs leap into fifth in the Premier League.

Rose missed 10 months of 2017 nursing a knee problem and had to wait until October to make his first appearance of the season for Tottenham. Pochettino has revealed he is set for another spell out of the team starting against West Ham United on Thursday [4 January] but the length of his absence is yet to be determined.

"We need to assess him," he said, according to The Evening Standard. "After the game against Southampton it was impossible to train and now we are going to assess him. Then the club will give information about what has happened.

"I am concerned about everyone when they cannot be available to play. Sometimes it is small things. You know in this situation we cannot manage because I am not a specialist. I am not a doctor.

"Always you are worried because you want the players available and fit to play, so you can make your decision. But we need to wait and we will assess him in the next few days. I think I cannot say anything. But my feeling, my perception is it would be difficult to play in 48 hours."

Despite returning to full fitness Rose has failed to regain his place as first choice at the back in the wake of criticising the club's transfer dealings and expressing a desire to leave north London in the future.

He was dropped for the derby defeat to Arsenal in November and was an unused substitute for the games against Watford, Stoke City, Burnley and Real Madrid in the Champions League before being absent for the trip to south Wales.

In December, The Daily Mail reported that United were confident of securing a £50m move for Rose either in the January transfer window or the summer, but a move this month now appears unlikely particularly if his new injury is revealed to be serious.

Manchester City have also been linked with a move for Rose, who has openly said he wants to return to the north of England to be closer to his family who are based in Yorkshire.

Whether United do indeed move for Rose in the January window may hinge on whether manager Jose Mourinho can convince executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward to invest in the former Leeds United youngster.

The Mirror understand Woodward is exploring younger, lower cost options after Mourinho asked for further investment after falling 14 points behind City in the Premier League title race during December, leading to the United coach becoming frustrated with the transfer chief.