Tottenham are sweating on the fitness of Jan Vertonghen who may not play again until next year after sustaining an ankle injury.

Vertonghen is waiting for the results of a scan and it is feared he may be out for more than a month, meaning he will miss Spurs' busy Christmas schedule.

The absence of Vertonghen makes it even more important that Danny Rose returns to action as soon as possible.

Rose has been out since September with a toe injury but is close to making a comeback.

Head coach Andre Villas-Boas may test the youngster's fitness against Anzhi Makhachkala in the Europa League on Thursday before a crunch match against Liverpool on Sunday.