Poyet sidelined for three months

Tottenham have suffered a pre-season blow with the news that midfielder Gus Poyet could be out for three months.

The Uruguayan suffered a knee injury in Saturday’s friendly against Gillingham and after undergoing scans has been told he faces a lengthy spell on the sidelines.

The 34-year-old scored both goals in Spurs’ 2-1 win at Priestfield but that victory has come at a cost.

Manager Glenn Hoddle told the club’s official website, www.spurs.co.uk: “He damaged his knee, won’t start the season and could be out for some time – we don’t know quite how long.

“It’s a big blow for Gus, he did not have one day last season in the treatment room. He’s had a scan and it’s not going to be anything this side of three months.

“It will certainly be that or a little bit more. It is a blow to us.”

Hoddle is hoping for better news on new signing Milenko Acimovic, who was substituted during Wednesday’s 4-0 win at Crystal Palace.

Hoddle said: “It was a contraction of the hamstring. What with losing Gus the last thing I wanted was for anything to happen to Milenko.

“We’re hoping it’s a contraction rather than a pull and we got him off pretty quickly to protect him.

“This is the horrible feeling for managers in pre-season, you have to play the games for the match practice. But, at the end of the day, you can end up getting injuries.

“It happens to every club, not just us, and we’ve got to battle on and hope Milenko is not long-term.”