Danny Rose has not given up hope of making his Tottenham return in the north London derby later this month.

The left-back resumed training outdoors this week and though Saturday’s FA Cup semi-final against Chelsea is likely to come too soon, he is still attempting to recover in time for Arsenal’s visit on April 30. Rose has not played since damaging medial ligaments in his knee in the 0-0 draw at Sunderland on January 31.

At the time, he was expected to be out of action for only about a month but the problem has taken far longer than expected to solve.

While Rose may struggle to come straight back into the starting XI, a place on the bench against the Gunners is not out of the question.

Rose, 26, proved himself one of the best in his role in the Premier League before his injury, operating both as a full-back and a wing-back. In his absence, Ben Davies has done a solid job although the Welshman lacks Rose’s athleticism or his aptitude in one-on-one duels with a winger.

Spurs manager Mauricio Pochettino must also decide whether to play Hugo Lloris or Michel Vorm in goal against Chelsea.

Lloris is the team captain and clear first choice for League matches but Vorm has played in every FA Cup game this season and Pochettino hinted last month that the Dutchman would get the nod. He said: “When you have a player like Michel Vorm, who is capable of playing at any club, he deserves to play in the semi-final. Why not?”

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Pochettino has a similar choice between Kyle Walker and Kieran Trippier at right-back: though Walker is the main man, Trippier has started all four matches in the competition.