Jan Vertonghen could be fit enough to feature in Tottenham's starting line up against Fulham on Sunday, Mauricio Pochettino has confirmed.
The Belgian defender has been sidelined with ankle ligament damage in recent weeks, having picked up the problem in Tottenham's 4-0 win over West Brom in mid-January.
Vertonghen has missed Tottenham's last five games but has been progressing well in training and is now pushing to be in contention for the trip to Craven Cottage in the FA Cup fifth round.
"Jan Vertonghen is very well and maybe Sunday he'll be ready to make the starting XI or be on the bench," Pochettino said ahead of his side's Europa League clash against Gent on Thursday night.
Pochettino has experimented with a number of deputies - and formational tweaks - during Vertonghen's injury absence and the 29-year-old's potential return will represent a boost for the north Londoners.
Spurs have been installed as clear favourites to progress at the expense of their capital rivals with Pochettino expected to make several changes to his side against Slaviša Jokanović's men, who occupy eighth place in the Championship table.
