Dominic Solanke was not involved in Tottenham training on Monday and will remain sidelined for their Champions League opener against Villarreal.
Spurs begin their European campaign on Tuesday at home to the Spanish side as they look to back up what has been a positive start to life under Thomas Frank domestically.
But the Spurs boss will once again have to deal with the absence of Solanke, who took no part in open training the day before the match.
"Dom is taking steps in the right direction,” Frank said at his press conference.
“So that is positive. As you saw out there, he is not ready to be involved tomorrow.”
The 28-year-old has been out with an ankle injury since coming off the bench in the win over Manchester City last month.
That was an issue that kept Solanke out for the majority of pre-season, and he has now missed matches against Bournemouth and West Ham.
Speaking ahead of the win over the Hammers on Saturday, Frank was asked whether it could be a problem that requires surgery.
The Spurs boss did not respond to that directly but insisted he did not expect Solanke to face a lengthy spell on the sidelines.
In his absence against Villarreal, Richarlison is likely to come back into the side to lead the line.
He started on the bench against West Ham after returning late in the week from international duty with Brazil, as Mathys Tel got his chance.
The Frenchman had little impact and has been left out of the Champions League squad for the league phase so cannot feature against Villarreal.
Randal Kolo Muani is available, though, and is in contention to make his Spurs debut.
Radu Dragusin trained by himself with a fitness coach, away from the main group.
