SWANSEA -- Danny Rose is set for another spell on the sidelines after the defender suffered a recurrence of the knee injury that ruled him out for nine months until October, but boss Mauricio Pochettino called it only a "small problem."
Rose did not travel to Swansea for Tuesday's Premier League match, and a club source told ESPN FC that he had been feeling the knee in recent weeks and would undergo tests to determined the extent of the problem this week.
It is unclear at this stage for how long Rose will be out, but he is not expected to feature in Thursday's game against West Ham United or the FA Cup third-round match against AFC Wimbledon on Sunday.
After the 2-0 win at Swansea, Pochettino said he was not concerned by Rose's injury, describing it as a "small problem."
"We need to assess him after the game against Southampton [on Boxing Day]," the Spurs manager told a news conference. "Then the club will give information about what happened.
"I am not concerned. Sometimes are small things. In this situaiton, I am not a specialist, not a doctor. You want your player fit to play, but we wait to see."
The news is still a significant blow for Spurs and for the 27-year-old, who originally suffered the injury in a 0-0 draw at Sunderland in January 2017.
After undergoing an operation, he finally returned as a substitute against Real Madrid in October and has since started eight matches, including five in the league.
Rose has previously said how difficult he found his injury absence, telling reporters in November: "It has been hard mentally watching the team do well over the last nine or 10 months. I am just grateful that I am back part of it.
"There are literally no words to describe how frustrating it has been. Even this season, sitting on the bench against Real Madrid [in the 3-1 win] -- that wasn't nice. It is nice that we won, but it is not nice when you want to be part of it."
It leaves Spurs with just one fit left-back in Ben Davies, although Jan Vertonghen and youngster Kyle Walker-Peters can both cover there.