Leon Osman, the Everton midfielder, will miss up to six weeks with an ankle injury, further depleting David Moyes' midfield options.
Osman sustained the injury in last Sunday's 2-0 win over Liverpool. He joins Jack Rodwell (ankle), Marouane Fellaini (hamstring) and Ross Barkley (broken leg) on the sidelines. Also, Mikel Arteta is struggling to overcome a groin problem and could miss the match at White Hart Lane.
Steven Pienaar (groin) and Louis Saha (calf) have also been sidelined but Moyes will hope they recover sooner rather than later.
Tottenham Hotspur welcome back Rafael van der Vaart, who missed the Champions League defeat to Inter Milan in midweek through suspension.
"Van der Vaart's been a really good signing. I think he's a player that a lot of people knew about but never thought he would be available," Moyes said.
"But Tottenham are in a situation where they've got a bit of money behind them that they're able to spend and they've been able to bring him to Tottenham."