Younes Kaboul is winning his battle to play in the final stage of Tottenham’s season and could even be fit for Sunday’s match against Blackburn.

The defender has not played since injuring his knee in the 2-1 home defeat by Norwich on Easter Monday, missing the defeats by Chelsea, in the FA Cup semi-final, and Queens Park Rangers, in the Premier League.

Manager Harry Redknapp feared Kaboul could be out for the remainder of the campaign but Standard Sport understands the Frenchman’s knee is now responding well to treatment and that it is possible he will start working with the first-team squad again this week.

If Kaboul plays at White Hart Lane on Sunday, it would boost a team struggling for both form and fitness. Although his level of performance dipped slightly during the second part of the season, the 26-year-old was excellent during the first half of it.

One win from nine Premier League matches has seen Spurs slip outside the top four, putting their hopes of qualifying for next season’s Champions League in jeopardy.

Emmanuel Adebayor is also likely to return after Spurs said he missed the 1-0 defeat at QPR with hamstring trouble but another key player, Benoit Assou‑Ekotto, might not feature again this season due to a shoulder injury.

Assou-Ekotto aggravated the problem at Loftus Road and Redknapp claimed yesterday that he would probably not play in the final four matches. In his absence, Danny Rose is likely to step in at left-back.