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Mousa Dembele set for Tottenham return against Southampton

Mousa Dembele in action during the Barclays Premier League match between Manchester United and and Tottenham
Image: Mousa Dembele has been in excellent form for Tottenham this season

Tottenham midfielder Mousa Dembele will undergo a late fitness test in the hope he can return from an injury against Southampton.

The 28-year-old, who has been in superb form for Spurs this season, missed the defeat at home to Newcastle on Sunday with a foot injury.

He also missed the Europa League win over Monaco the previous Thursday with illness but returned to training this week and is in line to make the squad at St Mary's on Saturday.

Clinton N'Jie on the ball during the UEFA Europa League Group J match between Tottenham Hotspur FC and Qarabag FK at White Hart Lane on September 17, 2015
Image: Clinton N'Jie has struggled with injury problems since joining from Lyon in the summer

But forward Clinton N'Jie faces up to a month on the sidelines with a knee ligament injury, according to head coach Mauricio Pochettino.

"Clinton picked up a ligament injury in his knee and maybe we miss him for a while," Pochettino said on Friday. 

"It's difficult to say how long. Maybe in the next few days we can communicate better with more specific details. Will it be more than a month? Maybe, yes.

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"Dembele is close. We need to assess him now in training. Ryan Mason is still out and so is Alex Pritchard. We hope that after the last training session everyone will be good."

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N'Jie, who has struggled with injury problems since he signed from Lyon in the summer, was absent for a month between October and November with a hamstring problem.

He is yet to make a Premier League start, coming off the bench seven times, but he has started twice in the Europa League, without scoring.

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