Ryan Mason has confirmed that Tottenham captain Hugo Lloris will miss the rest of the season but is hopeful that Yves Bissouma and Emerson Royal will play some part in the final four games.
Lloris was forced off at half-time of last month’s 6-1 defeat to Newcastle with a thigh injury after conceding five times in the opening 21 minutes.
The goalkeeper has missed Spurs’ last two games, with Fraser Forster stepping in, and scans revealed he would not play again this term, raising the possibility that the humiliation at St. James’ Park could be his final appearance for the club.
Lloris has a year remaining on his contract at Tottenham, which he signed in January 2022, but Spurs are expected to be in the market for a new No1 goalkeeper this summer, which could prompt the club captain to seek a new challenge.
"Hugo’s out for the season," acting head coach Mason said ahead of Saturday’s visit of Crystal Palace. "We had the results back. Obviously disappointing, but we kind of feared that initially. We did some more tests and he won’t play for us again this season.
"I can’t speak about next season but what I can say is that he has a very important role for us until the end of the season. We need him. We need him to be part of the group and I’m sure he will be."
Mason also confirmed that Ryan Sessegnon would not play again this term, having been sidelined since February with a hamstring injury, but was more optimistic on Bissouma, who was previously ruled out for the season by former head coach Antonio Conte.
"There are obviously some hurdles he has got to overcome and to hit some certain goals but we are hopeful he will appear before the end of the season," Mason said of the Malian, who had surgery on a fractured ankle in February.
Emerson has been missing since suffering a knee injury on Brazil duty in March.
Mason said: "Emerson I think it is a day to day check on how he is and how he’s coping. Hopefully Emerson can help us between now and end of the season."
Spurs are also without Rodrigo Bentancur, who will not feature again until next season after suffering an anterior cruciate ligament injury in February.
"These types of injuries you have to be very careful with," Mason added. "We see sometimes they can reoccur. We’re assessing him day by day. He’s making progress but it’s probably too early to set a return date."
Mason did not rule out switching to a back four against Palace after his side shipped four goals, including three in the opening 15 minutes, in last weekend’s 4-3 defeat to Liverpool.
"I am not sure [on the formation]," he said. "We are training this afternoon so we have got some decisions to make. Ultimately for us it is a collective to try to keep clean sheets and win games of football. Systems and formations, yeah they can help and can change some things but the desire of the 11 players on the pitch to have a common goal and work together is probably the most important thing.”
