Tottenham's preparations for the visit of Newcastle have been disrupted by illness within the squad, manager Ange Postecoglou has confirmed.
Spurs enter the battle in the bottom half of the Premier League table after dismal form left them 11 points off the top four.
They face a Newcastle side who have won their last five games in all competitions, conceding just one goal in that series.
Postecoglou's team has been struggling with injuries this season, with key defenders Micky van de Ven and Cristian Romero missing the festive period after a 4-3 defeat to Chelsea in early December.
And now the Australian boss may have to deal with even more absences after a disease virus forced some players to miss training.
“None of the injured are back yet,” Postecoglou said. 'We had a bit of a problem with a virus around the team, so a few were missing from training, but we will be fine.'
While Tottenham will miss both Van de Ven and Romero this weekend, Postecoglou confirmed they are expected back in training next week.
He continued: 'At this stage Richy and Mikey Moore are the next two taxi drivers, hopefully sometime next week.
“Ben [Davies]Micky van de Ven, Romero all around the same time, they will return at the end of January.
“Destiny is clearly looking at his hamstring around the six weeks he's been missing.”
Spurs will also be without Rodrigo Bentancur this weekend due to suspension after the midfielder picked up his fifth yellow card in his second game back after a seven-match league ban.
However, on Saturday afternoon there will be the return of Djed Spence, who missed the Wolves draw due to suspension.
Tottenham have won just one of their last seven Premier League matches and picked up just five points in that time.
The series of poor results has increased the pressure on Postecoglou. Nevertheless, Mail Sport understands that Postecoglou's position remains safe for the time being.
Despite knowing his job is safe for now, Postecoglou admitted how much the poor run is affecting him.
“It hurts me because ultimately I am responsible,” Postecoglou said after Tottenham's draw at home to Wolves. 'I am the person responsible. So of course it hurts.
“When I see how hard they try, it hurts even more because you want them to get a reward and I think they deserved a reward for their efforts, even though they are drawing on their energy reserves.
'I wanted them to be rewarded for their efforts. So of course it hurts. It hurts enormously. At the same time, it's my responsibility for where we are now and it's my responsibility to try to get us out of there.”
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