Tottenham Hotspur and Mauricio Pochettino have been handed a major injury blow just days before the new Premier League season gets underway.
Juan Foyth faces a spell on the sidelines after picking up an ankle problem in the Audi Cup penalty shootout win over Bayern Munich last week.
The good news is that the Argentina international is expected to be back in training next month, although the Lillywhites will be short of options across the backline with Serge Aurier and Ben Davies still on the comeback trail.
An official statement via the club's official website reads.
"After undergoing assessment over the past few days, we can confirm that Juan Foyth has sustained a lateral ligament injury to his left ankle following a challenge in our Audi Cup match against Bayern Munich.
"The Argentina international, who will miss the opening two games of the season due to suspension, will now undergo a period of rehabilitation and is expected to return to training in September."
As mentioned above, Foyth was already ruled out of this weekend's clash against newly-promoted Aston Villa as well as the game with champions Manchester City.
This is because he's still serving a suspension after being sent-off against Bournemouth towards the end of last season.
But when will he be available for selection again?
It's unclear as to exactly when Foyth will return in September.
The best case scenario is he's fully fit following the first international break of the new season, but barring a miraculous recovery it seems unlikely that he will face Arsenal in the north London derby on September 1.
With that said, football.london takes a look at the games Foyth will and could miss because of injury.
Games Foyth will miss
Tottenham vs Aston Villa, 10 August
Man City vs Tottenham , 17 August
Tottenham vs Newcastle, 25 August
Arsenal vs Tottenham , 01 September
Games Foyth could miss
Tottenham vs Crystal Palace, 14 September
Champions League Group stage, matchday one, 17/18 September
Leicester City vs Tottenham , 21 September
Carabao Cup Round Three – week commencing 23 September 2019
Tottenham vs Southampton, 28 September
