Tottenham Hotspur boss Jose Mourinho insists Danny Rose is still a part of his plans despite him not being involved in the last two games.
Rose sat out the FA Cup win over Middlesbrough and the 0-0 draw at Watford on Saturday, with youngster Japhet Tanganga playing at left-back instead.
The 29-year-old recently said he would run his contract down at Spurs, which expires next summer, which could give reason for Mourinho to look at other options.
But the Portuguese revealed Rose was missing at Watford due to a back injury.
He said: “Yeah, (he’s) part of my plans. Last match at home (Middlesbrough), a very offensive team, I wanted also to develop young players and give another chance to (Ryan) Sessegnon to play 90 minutes.
“It’s the kind of game that Rose doesn’t need for his progression, he is already the player he is. And today he had a little injury in his back two days ago, and yesterday we made the decision to bring only fit players.
“We knew it was going to be physical. At the same time we knew that (Ismaila) Sarr is a runner and to control a runner – not better than another runner.
“So the decision was also to bring Sessegnon on the bench in case we needed another winger. So a bit of everything.”
