Erik Lamela remains in contention for a place in Argentina’s World Cup squad, despite a torrid first season at Tottenham.

The winger became the club’s record signing when he moved from Roma for £30million last summer but poor form and injury have restricted him to just 17 appearances, with his last game more than three months ago.

Although Spurs have not ruled out Lamela playing again this term, he has still not resumed training after back problems and it appears unlikely he will figure in the first team in the remaining five games of the campaign.

Yet sources in Argentina insist Lamela retains the faith of national coach Alejandro Sabella, who is watching closely to see whether the player can make progress during the coming weeks. If Lamela can prove his fitness to Sabella before he names his final squad next month, there is a chance he could sneak into the final 23.

Lamela, 22, has six caps for his country and he is rated as highly there as Angel Di Maria, the Real Madrid forward who has become a key member of Carlo Ancelotti’s team this season, albeit playing in midfield.

At this stage, the five Argentina forwards most likely to travel to Brazil are Lionel Messi, Gonzalo Higuain, Sergio Aguero, Ezequiel Lavezzi and Rodrigo Palacio. Yet Sabella has still not finalised his plans and there is still time for Lamela to make a case.

Standard Sport revealed last month that Spurs’ coaching staff were losing hope that Lamela would play again this season. He has been ruled out of Spurs’ next two games, at West Brom on Saturday and at home against Fulham the following weekend.

With Tim Sherwood virtually certain to be replaced as head coach in the summer, his successor will have his own views about Lamela but it is thought chairman Daniel Levy is unlikely to cut his losses just yet.

There is interest in Lamela from Italy after strong performances in his second season in Rome but it is unlikely Spurs could recoup anything approaching what they paid the Serie A club.

Lamela’s potential is also clear and the feeling remains that he should be given time to settle.