Erik Lamela moves closer to Tottenham return as club confirm midfielder has begun working outside

Tottenham have confirmed that Erik Lamela has started working outside as he attempts to recover from a hip injury.

It is now thought that Lamela may be closer to a return than Danny Rose, though both still appear some way from resuming work with the rest of the first-team squad.

Lamela has not played for Tottenham since the 2-1 EFL Cup defeat at Liverpool on October 25. Since then, he returned to Argentina to be at the side of his brother, who was ill. Lamela also spent time working with the physios at his former club, Roma, in an attempt to accelerate his recovery.

Rose has developed into one of the most important players in the Tottenham team and his replacement, Ben Davies, simply does not offer the same attacking threat.

While Lamela is not quite as important, the Argentine is still a key man for Spurs when on song and he has been missed at times this term.