Tottenham Hotspur Could Be Without Three Key Players For North London Derby

Tottenham Hotspur have been hit hard by injuries this season and the figurative plague of injuries doesn't look like it will be relenting anytime soon. Spurs manager Andre Villas-Boas will likely be without Kyle Walker, Aaron Lennon and Jermain Defoe after all three suffered hamstring injuries against Manchester City. All three will not feature in England's mid-week international fixture.

Injuries have absolutely deprived Spurs of some of their best players this season. Scott Parker has yet to play for Spurs this season, Younes Kaboul played in one Premier League match before going down with an injury. Benoit Assou-Ekotto managed only three matches before he too succumbed to injury. Additionally, Spurs have been without Emmanual Adebayor at various points throughout the season.

Tottenham may, however, have the services of Mousa Dembele for their North London Derby match against Arsenal on Saturday. The return of the Belgian midfielder could be a big boost to the squad that looked flimsy in the middle of the park against Manchester City.

The loss of Jermain Defoe may not have as much of an impact now that Adebayor is fully fit for Spurs, but the losses of Walker and Lennon will certainly be huge. Kyle Naughton seems to be fully fit and will likely fill-in for Walker at right back. Naughton started twice against Arsenal last season while on loan at Norwich City, so it shouldn't be completely unexplored territory for the youngster.

Replacing Aaron Lennon, on the other hand, seems like a much taller task. Tottenham have one true winger to back up both Gareth Bale and Aaron Lennon. That player, Andros Townsend, would probably be a good bet to appear if it weren't for the recent good form of Iago Falque. Falque is more comfortable on the left, but is certainly capable of playing on the right. One of those two would likely be the choice to spell Aaron Lennon, but I think it's more likely that we'll see either Clint Dempsey or Gylfi Sigurdsson, because that's just what Spurs do.

Hopefully the injuries to all these players aren't too serious and they're all back to full-fitness shortly.