Tottenham may have to wait a little longer before they welcome back Mousa Dembele.

The midfielder will miss Belgium’s forthcoming World Cup qualifying matches against Bosnia-Herzegovina and Gibraltar with an ankle problem.

Dembele has only made just appearances for Spurs this season following the completion of his six-match suspension; 45 minutes in their Champions League opener against AS Monaco before starting in the following Premier League match against Sunderland.

The Belgian has missed Tottenham's four subsequent fixtures against Gillingham (EFL Cup), Middlesbrough, CSKA Moscow (Champions League) and Manchester City.

His absence has seen summer signing Victor Wanyama deputise in midfielder, with the Kenyan playing a pivotal role in last weekend’s 2-0 victory over Manchester City.

Speaking after the win, Wanyama said: “If we continue playing like this it can take us somewhere good, somewhere better than last season.

"We had to make sure that we kept a clean sheet, kept focus. It was tough but we always felt that we were strong and we knew we could get something.”

