KEY POINTS

  • Spurs say however are expecting a "short recovery time" for the defender.
  • Georges-Kévin Nkoudou, Danny Rose and Erik Lamela remain unavailable.

Tottenham Hotspur remain without four first-team players for their opening game of the 2017-18 Premier League season against Newcastle United on Sunday (11 August).

Kieran Trippier, Mauricio Pochettino's new first-choice option at right-back following Kyle Walker's move to Manchester City, limped off during a pre-season victory over Juventus with an ankle problem.

After undergoing a scan, Tottenham have now confirmed the 26-year-old has suffered minor ligament damage that rules him out of the trip to St James' Park, although the north London side are expecting a "short recovery time."

Georges-Kévin Nkoudou will be another absentee on Sunday having failed to recover from a foot injury. The former Lyon starlet impressed during the club's pre-season campaign before the knock also ruled him out of the final match against Juventus.

Trippier and Nkoudou remain on the sidelines along with long-term absentees Danny Rose and Erik Lamela. Rose has not played for the club since the end of January when he suffered a knee ligament injury in a goalless draw against Sunderland that required him to see a specialist and undergo surgery during the summer.

The England international is not expected to return until October but also threw his future at the club in doubt in a tell-all interview released on Thursday where he questioned the club's ambition transfer policy. Rose has since apologised to his Tottenham teammates for his "ill-judged" comments.

Lamela meanwhile has not featured since October 2016 due to a mysterious hip problem. The Argentina international also went under the knife to address the problem over the summer and is expected to miss the opening weeks of the new season.

Kieran Trippier
Trippier will miss the season's curtain-raiser against Newcastle. Getty Images