According to Tottenham Hotspur manager Andre Villas Boas, Mousa Dembele will not be fit in time for the North London Derby with Arsenal. Speaking to the press, Villas-Boas had this to say:

"Dembele does not have a chance, not for this game. There is a 50% chance he will be back for the Lazio game. I think surgery at the moment is out of the question, hopefully."

This is not good news for Tottenham, who, playing without the Belgian against Manchester City, looked significantly weaker through the middle with only Tom Huddlestone and Sandro in midfield. No matter who lines up in Arsenal's midfield, Tottenham Hotspur will likely find their job considerably more difficult without Dembele.

In additional injury news of the trio of Spurs player who suffered hamstring injuries last week, only Aaron Lennon looks like he will be able to play. Kyle Walker and Jermain Defoe are still up in the air. According to Villas-Boas, none of the players have trained with the first-team yet, but have been having individual training sessions in order to get fit.