Jan Vertonghen’s hamstring injury will keep him out until December, according to his club’s website, which could see him miss the North London derby.

Vertonghen picked up the injury against Huddersfield Town on 29th September and missed Tottenham’s games against Barcelona and Cardiff as a result. On Thursday, the club announced on their website that despite responding well to his rehabilitation so far, the defender’s current goal is to return to full training by December.

If the Belgian doesn’t return to training in November, he’ll almost certainly miss the North London derby. Arsenal play Spurs at the Emirates Stadium on December 2nd, so there’s no time for the 31-year-old to return to training and get fully match sharp if he only makes his comeback the day before.

It’s a pretty big blow for Spurs, given Vertonghen had played the full 90 minutes in every single one of their Champions League and Premier League matches before his injury.

The team have alternative options, with Toby Alderweireld and Davinson Sanchez, but it limits their ability to play three at the back. The only way to do so with the current squad would be to put Eric Dier at centre-back.

We’ll see how they react to the absence of arguably their best performing centre-back over the next month or so.