Tottenham midfielder Harry Winks is confident of making a full recovery from ankle surgery, despite a longer period of rehab than anticipated.

Winks has not played since February and he went under the knife in May, shortly after signing a new contract until 2023, to fix a persistent ankle injury.

He had hoped to be fit for the start of the season but the 22-year-old did not play any part in pre-season and he is still said to feel occasional discomfort in his ankle.

While Spurs are cautious about putting an exact timeframe on his return to training, there is optimism that he will make a full recovery from the problem and be available for Pochettino sooner rather than later.

Winks told Standard Sport in February: "I had one ankle injury, then I came back, and I got another one. I was playing with it and I got to the point where I had to pull out. It wasn’t easy.

"The most difficult thing has been watching the lads play and do really well while I wasn’t involved."