Harry Kane will have to change his game in order to regain his best form, according to Tottenham great Glenn Hoddle.
The England striker has not featured for Spurs since scoring in the winner in a 1-0 victory over Sunderland on September 18 thanks to an ankle injury.
Kane has been ruled out of Wednesday's Champions League clash with Bayer Leverkusen, but could be set for a return in Sunday's derby against Arsenal.
Hoddle has urged Spurs fans to be patient with Kane when he does eventually make his comeback.
"It's a big ask for the young man," he said. "It's the first time he's been out for any length of time over a longer period of time through injury.
"That's a hurdle you have to get over as a player mentally, so it's asking a lot.
"He's not going to come back in great form straight away. He'll need some time, but during that time, if he can start popping a few goals in, that'll get his confidence back quicker. So I think that's the ideal situation.
"We're going to have to wait probably four or five games until he's back to his very sharpest, but on the way, can he nick a couple of goals for Tottenham and be the difference in the result? That's what he needs to look at.
"Maybe [he'll have to] change his game a little bit, just conserve his energy and think 'my job at the moment is just to nick a goal'. I think he has to play a little bit different coming back in the first four or five games."
Hoddle is disappointed with the performances of Vincent Janssen in the absence of Kane, with the Dutchman having scored just three goals in 15 appearances - two in the EFL Cup.
"Harry has been a miss, of course, and the new lad Janssen has got a couple of penalties but he hasn't set the world alight so far," he added.
"I've seen him play for Holland and he impressed me for Holland - a couple of really good strong games I've seen him play.
"If he was coming in and scoring left, right and centre, then Harry wouldn't have been such a miss. But it hasn't quite worked out like that."
