Tottenham have confirmed that Harry Winks is carrying a hip injury that needs to be assessed ahead of Spurs’ North London derby. Since missing their opening win over Newcastle United, the 23-year-old has been in the matchday squad for every Premier League outing this season. He played a full 90 minutes against Chelsea on Wednesday evening too but has been struggling ever since.
Winks’s absence would be a major blow to Tottenham as he’s made 25 league appearances this season and formed a successful midfield partnership alongside Moussa Sissoko. With Dele Alli still out of action, Mauricio Pochettino might have to call upon Vincent Wanyama to start. The 27-year-old has been introduced from the bench in recent weeks, but it would be a big call to hand him his first league start since November 2018.
Wanyama has made 10 appearances in all competitions this season, four of which have been starts. He’s spent the majority of the campaign sidelined with a knee injury and has only racked up 10 minutes of Premier League football since his return in mid-January. Oliver Skipp could also be considered. He’s made ten first-team appearances this season and made the squad in the Champions League knockouts.
Pochettino has selected Skipp in the senior squad for 23 games (13 in the Premier League, four in the Champions League, four in the EFL Cup, two in the FA Cup), but whether he’ll start him in such a big game remains to be seen.