Mauricio Pochettino says injured trio Jan Vertonghen, Danny Rose and Erik Lamela are making progress but will not feature when Tottenham travel to Gent for their Europa League last-32 first leg on Thursday (6pm).

Vertonghen, who is recovering from an ankle injury, could return as early as Sunday, when Spurs face Fulham in the FA Cup fifth round.

Lamela is taking positive steps on his comeback from a long-term hip problem, while Pochettino has revealed Rose's recovery from a knee complaint is "on track".

But the injured players will not be available for selection when Spurs face their Belgium opponents looking for a positive reaction to their unsuccessful Champions League campaign.

They dropped into the Europa League after finishing third in Group E and will face a Gent side sitting eighth in the Belgium Pro League having finished second to Club Brugge last season.

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Vertonghen, Rose and Lamela miss out but Pochettino says all three are progressing well.

Georges-Kevin Nkoudou is a doubt for Thursday, while Kieran Trippier could replace Kyle Walker at right-back.

Harry Winks, who this week signed a new Tottenham contract keeping him at the club until 2022, is pushing for a start in midfield.

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This will be the first ever meeting between these sides.

Gent's only previous meeting with English opposition was in the 1964-65 Cup Winners' Cup first round - they lost 1-2 on aggregate against West Ham (losing the home leg 0-1) as the London side went on to lift the trophy.

Tottenham are winless in their four previous away games against Belgian opponents (D2 L2), most recently a 1-2 loss against Anderlecht in this competition last season.

The Buffalos have conceded 13 goals in the Europa League this season - more than any other side left in the competition. The other sides who conceded 13 or more finished bottom of their groups - FK Qabala and Austria Vienna (14), Panathinaikos (13).

The Lilywhites have lost five of their last eight European games (W2 D1), including three of their six Champions League games this season.

This will be Tottenham's 134th match in the UEFA Cup/Europa League (excluding qualifiers) - 18 more than any other English side (Liverpool 116).

Indeed, Spurs are appearing in the competition for the sixth successive season, a record among English sides (Ipswich are next with four).

Gent's Danijel Milicevic created more goalscoring opportunities for his team-mates than any other player in the Europa League group stages (23).

Charlie predicts

Suddenly a little spanner has been thrown into the works for Spurs, who everybody was saying were genuine contenders, and they are now facing criticism after a really poor performance at Liverpool.

Now Pochettino has to decide what his priorities are and how to shuffle his pack with the Europa League sandwiching the FA Cup at the weekend.

I would imagine he will make a point about how unhappy he is, with Eric Dier in particular extremely poor at centre-back once again against Liverpool.

I know Victor Wanyama is the main holding midfielder but he might want to play them as a pair for a bit more protection and bring Kevin Wimmer in at centre-back until Vertonghen returns.

I would think Pochettino will only make two or three changes here but I'd expect Dele Alli and Harry Kane to get a rest, with Vincent Janssen coming in.

Charlie predicts: 1-1 and Vincent Janssen to score first - 30/1 with Sky Bet

Betting

Tottenham are 5/6 favourites with Sky Bet as Gent are considered 16/5 outsiders on the night while the draw is priced at 13/5. The Belgian outfit are also long odds at 100/30 to progress into the final 16 with Mauricio Pochettino's men second in the outright betting at 15/2.

Kalifa Coulibaly and Jeremy Perbet are considered the hosts' main threats at 15/2 apiece in the first goalscorer betting, while Kane (7/2) is followed by Alli (5/1) and Janssen (11/2) on Spurs' side of the market.