Dembele close to Tottenham return

Tottenham could be boosted by the return of Mousa Dembele, with the midfielder set for a late fitness test as the club prepare to face Southampton in the Premier League. 

Dembele has missed Tottenham's past two fixtures - a 2-1 loss against Newcastle United and a 4-1 win over Monaco - due to a foot injury picked up in a 1-1 draw against West Brom a fortnight ago.

Tottenham coach Mauricio Pochettino confirmed Dembele could be a late inclusion for their away clash at St Mary's on Saturday, pending a fitness test. 

"Dembele is close. We need to assess him now in training," Pochettino said.

However, the Argentinean will be without Clinton N'Jie for a month, while Ryan Mason and Alex Pritchard are still unavailable. 

"Clinton picked up a ligament injury in his knee and maybe we miss him for a while," Pochettino added.

"It's difficult to say how long. Maybe in the next few days we can communicate better with more specific details. Will it be more than a month? Maybe, yes.

"Ryan Mason is still out and so is Alex Pritchard. We hope that after the last training session everyone will be good."