Danny Rose is a doubt for England’s matches against Germany and Lithuania next month after suffering a delay to his recovery from a knee injury.

When Rose originally damaged medial knee ligaments in Tottenham’s 0-0 draw at Sunderland on January 31, he was initially expected to be out of action for about a month, returning for the home fixture with Everton in early March.

But it is now believed Rose will need longer than was anticipated to return to senior football, raising the prospect that he will miss the friendly against Germany on March 22 and the World Cup qualifier against Lithuania four days later.

Rose has established himself as one of the best left-backs in England this season, becoming first choice for the national team after making impressive strides under Mauricio Pochettino at Tottenham.

The 26-year-old signed a new five-year contract with Spurs last September, worth about £65,000 per week, as chairman Daniel Levy sought to secure the futures of all the club’s key players.

Rose was a mere spectator last night/on Thursday, however, as Tottenham crashed out of the Europa League with a 2-2 draw against Gent at Wembley, meaning the Belgian club progress to the last 16 with a 3-2 aggregate triumph after their 1-0 win in the first leg.

