Tottenham Hotspur delay Danny Rose return until after Sunderland clash

Tottenham Hotspur full-back Danny Rose will not return in time for Sunday's (18 September) Premier League meeting with Sunderland.

Rose, 26, missed the 4-0 victory over Stoke City on Saturday 10 September and Wednesday's Champions League defeat to Monaco after picking up a hamstring injury away on international duty with England.

Wales international Ben Davies stepped in to replace him in those games and will be called upon again this weekend with Spurs boss Mauricio Pochettino not ready to risk Rose too soon.

"Danny is recovering well but is still not 100%," Pochettino told a press conference on Friday. We will probably need to wait one more week."

Pochettino is also holding off on handing Georges-Kevin Nkoudou his debut for the club. The 21-year-old winger, who officially sealed his move from Marseille on transfer deadline day is still working towards full match fitness, according to his manager, who is also keen for the player to improve his grasp of the English language.

"We will see. He needs to work more," Pochettino said," the Hertfordshire Mercury reports. "I think maybe he will be ready to be selected next week, maybe but not sure.

"It is going well. He is very young, he speaks only French, it is a big problem for him. He is learning quickly, but he is still settling into the team."

Mousa Dembele is also in line to make his first league appearance of the season. The Belgium international picked up a six-match ban at the end of last season after clashing with Diego Costa at Stamford Bridge. That ban carried over into this season, ruling him out of games against Everton, Crystal Palace, Liverpool and Stoke.

Prior to Wednesday's clash with Monaco where he came off the bench as a substitute, Dembele had been limited to just 45 minutes of first-team football this season, playing a half for Belgium during the recent international break against Spain.