Tottenham Hotspur vs Leicester City: Mousa Dembele and Ryan Mason ruled out of FA Cup clash

Tottenham Hotspur manager Mauricio Pochettino will be without Mousa Dembele and Ryan Mason for his side's FA Cup third round clash with Leicester City but will soon have Alex Pritchard back among his squad options.

Spurs are preparing for back-to-back games against Leicester in the FA Cup and the Premier League in the space of four days, both at White Hart Lane. For Sunday (January 10)'s meeting with the Foxes, Spurs will be without both Mason and Dembele, who are close to making their respective returns but unavailable for the weekend.

Dembele, who has enjoyed a fine season after reclaiming a role in the first team, has featured in 15 league games so far this term, contributing two goals. The Belgium international missed last week's draw with Everton due to an ankle problem. Mason meanwhile has missed the club's last six games.

Tottenham are also without Cameroon forward Clinton N'Jie. The former Lyon forward has made 13 appearances for Spurs this season but picked up a knee problem in the Europa League victory over Monaco in December, forcing him to undergo surgery to the medial collateral ligament of his right knee.

Pritchard, who signed a new four-year deal at White Hart Lane in October 2015, underwent surgery on his right ankle to address a problem he initially suffered while on international duty with England at the summer's Under-21 European Championships.

Speaking at a press conference ahead of the FA Cup third round meeting with Leicester City, Pochettino confirmed via the club's Twitter account the 22-year-old is "close to start working with the team."