Tottenham suffer huge injury blow in first real test of the season as key man flies back to London

Tottenham have been dealt a huge blow with captain and goalkeeper Hugo Lloris a huge doubt for their North London derby in October.

The 35-year-old who is a main-stay in Antonio Conte’s set up since he took over almost a year ago picked up an injury while on international duty with France - and will now have to sit out the friendlies against Austria and Denmark this month.

He pulled his thigh during training and even though the medical team didn’t think it was a major issue initially, subsequent tests have revealed deeper damage and he will now have to return to north London for treatment.

Impressive Nantes goalkeeper Alban Lafont has been called to replace Lloris as the World Champions look to polish up ahead of the World Cup to be staged in Qatar later this year.

Both Tottenham and Arsenal have had a solid start to the campaign and will put their good form to test when they meet for the north London derby after the international break.

There are fears that Lloris might not recover in time for it even though he still has two weeks to recuperate.

Fraser Forster who joined the Lillywhites after his contract expired at the end of last season will most likely get his debut if the French goalkeeper is unable to recover in time for the game.

Lloris has had a brilliant start to the campaign with three clean sheets from his nine games so far.

He has played a total of 425 times for the Lillywhites, more than any current Spurs player, and his experience has been vital as Antonio Conte looks to transform his squad both physically and mentally.