Tottenham missing key trio for Wycombe FA Cup clash

Danny Rose, Toby Alderweireld and Harry Kane have all been ruled out of Tottenham Hotspur's FA Cup fourth round David vs Goliath meeting with League Two playoff hopefuls Wycombe Wanderers this weekend. However, manager Mauricio Pochettino remains hopeful that the injured trio will be fit for the subsequent midweek Premier League trip to Sunderland.

Alderweireld, who was sidelined for almost two months in the autumn due to a freak nerve injury to his knee that took longer than expected to heal, hobbled off to be replaced by Harry Winks after 65 minutes of Sunday's pulsating 2-2 draw at Manchester City. Pochettino, already without the services of one first-choice defender in Jan Vertonghen, stressed after the match that he did not believe it to be a big issue and the player himself subsequently confirmed that he was withdrawn as a precaution after suffering from cramp and tightness in his hamstring.

"At the moment I went down, my hamstring was about to snap," he was quoted as saying by The Mirror. "If you then have to sprint in a one on one, you're done.

"I could have been out for six or seven weeks. This was experience. I felt that something was coming, so I decided not to take any risk."

Left-back Rose, meanwhile, lasted the full 90 minutes against City before reportedly leaving the Etihad Stadium sporting a knee brace. Harry Kane initially showed no signs of an injury, but appears to be dealing with a minor groin complaint after training alongside his teammates during Tottenham's warm weather camp in Barcelona.

Pochettino also revealed that Vertonghen's recovery from ankle ligament damage could now be less than a month away. Erik Lamela, who has not kicked a ball in anger since October due to a lingering hip injury, will be reassessed following his return to training on Friday.

"Jan Vertonghen is much better but probably 3-4 weeks more," he added. "Erik Lamela will come back training with us tomorrow and we'll assess him again."

The 18-year-old academy graduate midfielder Marcus Edwards is also now training again having been sidelined for three months with an ankle injury. However, it sounds as if the visit of Wycombe will come too soon for a player who has earned the nickname "Mini Messi" at White Hart Lane.