Ryan Mason is confident he will return to action in time for Tottenham’s Christmas fixtures.

The England midfielder suffered an ankle injury in the 0-0 stalemate with Chelsea last month and was ruled out of the 1-1 draw at West Brom last weekend.

It is Mason’s second spell on the sidelines this season — he was absent for six weeks after damaging his knee when scoring the only goal at Sunderland on September 13 — but this problem is unlikely to keep him out for as long as that one did.

Tottenham head coach Mauricio Pochettino is notoriously cautious about bringing back his players too quickly after injury and it is the same with Mason, although the player is thought to be targeting the trip to Southampton on December 19 for his comeback.

West Brom vs Tottenham - player ratings 13 show all West Brom vs Tottenham - player ratings 1/13 Hugo Lloris 7 Could do little about West Brom’s equalising goal but made an outstanding save to deny Jonas Olsson deep into the second half. 2/13 Kyle Walker 7 Spoiled an otherwise impressive display by allowing McClean to elude him for West Brom’s equaliser but he was still one of Spurs’ better performers. 3/13 Toby Alderweireld 6 Dealt better with the physical threat of Salomon Rondon than his central defensive partner JanVertonghen did – but he also struggled against the Venezuelan. 4/13 Jan Vertonghen 5 Rondon gave him the jitters throughout, but the Belgian still managed to make some vital interceptions. 5/13 Danny Rose 5 A streaky display from the full-back, whose judgment was often awry – although he did make a fine sliding tackle to stop Chris Brunt in his tracks. 6/13 Eric Dier 6 Switched off for a split second during the move that led to West Brom’s equaliser, allowing Darren Fletcher to run on to Stephane Sessegnon’s pass untroubled. 7/13 Mousa Dembele 6 Failed to reach the high level he attained in recent games and was lucky not to be injured by an awful tackle from McClean, who was not even penalised. 8/13 Erik Lamela 5 Didn’t carry enough threat in attack and it was no surprised to see him replaced with 25 minutes remaining. 9/13 Dele Alli 7 The brightest of Spurs attacking players, he scored a fine goal and nearly created another for Harry Kane with a wonderful lofted pass. 10/13 Christian Eriksen 5 Hasn’t found the same rhythm this season as he did last. The Dane was used on both flanks but had little space in which to work. 11/13 Harry Kane 6 The England forward worked as hard as ever but received very little service and was booked for a clumsy foul on Craig Dawson. 12/13 Heung-min Son 6 Looked lively when he came without causing particular damage to the home defence. 13/13 Clinto N'Jie 6 Wrongly given offside when he was sent clean through by Dembele with time ticking away. 1/13 Hugo Lloris 7 Could do little about West Brom’s equalising goal but made an outstanding save to deny Jonas Olsson deep into the second half. 2/13 Kyle Walker 7 Spoiled an otherwise impressive display by allowing McClean to elude him for West Brom’s equaliser but he was still one of Spurs’ better performers. 3/13 Toby Alderweireld 6 Dealt better with the physical threat of Salomon Rondon than his central defensive partner JanVertonghen did – but he also struggled against the Venezuelan. 4/13 Jan Vertonghen 5 Rondon gave him the jitters throughout, but the Belgian still managed to make some vital interceptions. 5/13 Danny Rose 5 A streaky display from the full-back, whose judgment was often awry – although he did make a fine sliding tackle to stop Chris Brunt in his tracks. 6/13 Eric Dier 6 Switched off for a split second during the move that led to West Brom’s equaliser, allowing Darren Fletcher to run on to Stephane Sessegnon’s pass untroubled. 7/13 Mousa Dembele 6 Failed to reach the high level he attained in recent games and was lucky not to be injured by an awful tackle from McClean, who was not even penalised. 8/13 Erik Lamela 5 Didn’t carry enough threat in attack and it was no surprised to see him replaced with 25 minutes remaining. 9/13 Dele Alli 7 The brightest of Spurs attacking players, he scored a fine goal and nearly created another for Harry Kane with a wonderful lofted pass. 10/13 Christian Eriksen 5 Hasn’t found the same rhythm this season as he did last. The Dane was used on both flanks but had little space in which to work. 11/13 Harry Kane 6 The England forward worked as hard as ever but received very little service and was booked for a clumsy foul on Craig Dawson. 12/13 Heung-min Son 6 Looked lively when he came without causing particular damage to the home defence. 13/13 Clinto N'Jie 6 Wrongly given offside when he was sent clean through by Dembele with time ticking away.

Mason, 24, was first choice in central midfield for most of last season but now faces a tough task to displace Eric Dier, Mousa Dembele and Dele Alli.