Erik Lamela was due to return to Tottenham today after the latest stage of his rehabilitation but the coaching staff were unsure about when he would be fit to play again.

Spurs’ £30million record signing has been following a programme of rehabilitation to recover from what the club describe as a back problem, but much of his recent time has been spent away from the Hotspur Way training complex in Enfield.

Lamela, 22, is believed to have spent some time in Italy as he tries to make himself ready to play first-team football again, but there are question marks over when he might be available to head coach Tim Sherwood.

Standard Sport understands that, in the opinion of many at Spurs today, Lamela is some way away from being able to compete for a first-team spot. The club also did not reveal where their player had been in recent weeks.

Club sources have privately expressed doubts about whether Lamela will appear again in the first team this season, although there should be a clearer picture when the Argentina international has been assessed again by staff at Tottenham.

Whatever Lamela’s involvement in the final weeks of the campaign, it will be difficult for him to turn around an extremely disappointing first season in English football. Recruited from Roma by technical director Franco Baldini, who also brought Lamela to Italy from River Plate in the summer of 2011, Lamela has made only 11 starts – three of them in Premier League – and has scored just one goal.

Classic Chelsea v Tottenham encounters 5 show all Classic Chelsea v Tottenham encounters 1/5 Tottenham 1-6 Chelsea (Premier League, December 1997) Under the managerial guidance of Dutch legend Ruud Gullit, Chelsea strolled to victoryat White Hart Lane with striker Tore Andre Flo (pictured) grabbing a hat-trick. The two teams went into the break 1-1 but Chelsea and rangy frontman Flo steamrollered Spurs in the second half to complete a miserable afternoon for the home fans. 2/5 Tottenham 2-1 Chelsea (Premier League, November 2006) Aaron Lennon’s second-half winner at White Hart Lane gave Spurs their first league win over Chelsea since 1990. Blues captain John Terry was sent-off as Chelsea were frustrated in their attempts to get back into the game. 3/5 Chelsea 3-3 Tottenham (FA Cup quarter-final, March 2007) Tottenham found themselves on the end of a stirring comeback in 2007 as Chelsea roared back from 3-1 down to earn a cup replay. Dimitar Berbatov had opened the scoring for Spurs but they were pegged back by a Frank Lampard strike. A Michael Essien own goal and a third from Egyptian midfielder Hossam Ghaly put Spurs in command until a Lampard volley and a late leveller from Salomon Kalou finished the entertaining clash at Stamford Bridge. 4/5 Tottenham 4-4 Chelsea (Premier League, March 19 2008) Spurs dealt their rivals a title blow in 2008 by coming from 3-1 and 4-3 behind to draw a classic battle at White Hart Lane. Spurs' Robbie Keane (pictured celebrating) scored a stunning equaliser. 5/5 Chelsea 5-1 Tottenham (FA Cup semi-final, April 2012) A handsome Wembley victory for Chelsea was kickstarted by a controversial ‘ghost goal’ from the Blues' Juan Mata. With Chelsea 1-0 ahead, Mata's shot sparked a goalmouth scramble which resulted in Benoit Assou-Ekotto clearing the ball off the line (pictured). Referee Martin Atkinson however, thought otherwise, and awarded Chelsea a third goal. Despite a Gareth Bale strike to bring it back to 2-1, Spurs never recovered from the unjust decision and their opponents helped themselves to three late goals and place in the cup final. 1/5 Tottenham 1-6 Chelsea (Premier League, December 1997) Under the managerial guidance of Dutch legend Ruud Gullit, Chelsea strolled to victoryat White Hart Lane with striker Tore Andre Flo (pictured) grabbing a hat-trick. The two teams went into the break 1-1 but Chelsea and rangy frontman Flo steamrollered Spurs in the second half to complete a miserable afternoon for the home fans. 2/5 Tottenham 2-1 Chelsea (Premier League, November 2006) Aaron Lennon’s second-half winner at White Hart Lane gave Spurs their first league win over Chelsea since 1990. Blues captain John Terry was sent-off as Chelsea were frustrated in their attempts to get back into the game. 3/5 Chelsea 3-3 Tottenham (FA Cup quarter-final, March 2007) Tottenham found themselves on the end of a stirring comeback in 2007 as Chelsea roared back from 3-1 down to earn a cup replay. Dimitar Berbatov had opened the scoring for Spurs but they were pegged back by a Frank Lampard strike. A Michael Essien own goal and a third from Egyptian midfielder Hossam Ghaly put Spurs in command until a Lampard volley and a late leveller from Salomon Kalou finished the entertaining clash at Stamford Bridge. 4/5 Tottenham 4-4 Chelsea (Premier League, March 19 2008) Spurs dealt their rivals a title blow in 2008 by coming from 3-1 and 4-3 behind to draw a classic battle at White Hart Lane. Spurs' Robbie Keane (pictured celebrating) scored a stunning equaliser. 5/5 Chelsea 5-1 Tottenham (FA Cup semi-final, April 2012) A handsome Wembley victory for Chelsea was kickstarted by a controversial ‘ghost goal’ from the Blues' Juan Mata. With Chelsea 1-0 ahead, Mata's shot sparked a goalmouth scramble which resulted in Benoit Assou-Ekotto clearing the ball off the line (pictured). Referee Martin Atkinson however, thought otherwise, and awarded Chelsea a third goal. Despite a Gareth Bale strike to bring it back to 2-1, Spurs never recovered from the unjust decision and their opponents helped themselves to three late goals and place in the cup final.

He has also struggled to settle off the field and, at least in the early part of the campaign, had difficulty communicating with team-mates as he attempted to learn English. In January, there were suggestions that Spurs were willing to allow Lamela to return to Italy, but the club would be loath to cut their losses on a player with abundant potential, and who cost them so much money.

Sherwood’s immediate focus is on tomorrow’s derby at Chelsea, at the start of a month that is likely to shape Tottenham’s season. The Spurs boss is thought to be cautiously optimistic that defenders Kyle Walker and Younes Kaboul will be fit to play some part at Stamford Bridge. Both were scheduled to train today.

Kaboul has not figured since picking up a calf strain in the 4-0 win at Newcastle last month, while Walker has missed the last three matches due to a hip problem, which forced him to withdraw from the England squad for the friendly win over Denmark two days ago.

After the match at Chelsea, where Spurs have not won in the league since 1990, Sherwood’s team face Arsenal, Southampton and Liverpool in the league. They also tackle two matches against Benfica, on March 13 and 20, in the Europa League last 16.