Tottenham could welcome back a member of their squad next week as the player in question targets an imminent return to training.
Sunday’s North London Derby could not have arrived at a more dramatic moment in Tottenham’s turbulent season.
Igor Tudor will take charge of his first game as Spurs manager against their fiercest rivals, Arsenal, with the Croatian handed the unenviable task of steadying a ship that has been listing badly for months.
Two managers ago, this was a club that had just won the Europa League.
Now, Tottenham sit just five points above the Premier League relegation zone, having gone eight top flight games without a win.
Thomas Frank paid the price for that miserable run last week. Tudor, the former Juventus boss, has walked into arguably the most pressurised debut of his managerial career — though history is at least on his side, having won his first game at each of his last five clubs.
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His return is still a little bit further down the line.
Arsenal, meanwhile, arrive at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium with their own nerves fraying.
The Gunners dropped points against Wolves recently and know that a defeat here could blow the title race wide open. Neither side is in the mood to give an inch.
With Spurs captain Cristian Romero still serving a four-game suspension and a lengthy injury list hampering Tudor’s options, Sunday’s encounter promises to be ferocious — and difficult viewing for the home faithful.
Yet, amid the tension and the chaos of a season gone sideways, there is at least one quietly positive story emerging from Hotspur Way, even if it has little to do with the first team.
Mason Melia nearing return from injury at Tottenham
BBC Sport’s Nizaar Kinsella is reporting that Mason Melia, Tottenham’s highly-rated new teenage striker, is closing in on a return to training as early as next week.
The 18-year-old Irishman joined Spurs in January from St Patrick’s Athletic in a deal worth £1.6m, potentially rising to £3.2m with add-ons — a record fee for a player departing League of Ireland football.
His arrival had been long anticipated.
Spurs beat off competition from Everton, Chelsea, Man City, Celtic, Genk, Bologna and Eintracht Frankfurt to land his signature, such was the level of interest in him across Europe.
The decision to loan out fellow striker Dane Scarlett to Hibernian for the rest of the season was made with Melia’s imminent arrival firmly in mind.
The only setback has been a minor back complaint that Tottenham’s medical staff identified when he first walked through the door. It was not considered serious, but the club were cautious enough to keep him out of any competitive involvement while it was resolved.
That period of patience now appears to be coming to an end.
Once fit, Melia is expected to link up with the Spurs Under-21s initially, with the door left open for involvement with Tudor’s first team if he takes his opportunity.
Given Spurs’ threadbare attack and the pressure Tudor will face to produce results quickly, it would not be a surprise to see Melia fast-tracked if he hits the ground running.
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The Croatian is set to take charge of Spurs for the first time on Sunday.
