London — Tottenham Hotspur goalkeeper Hugo Lloris faces up to seven weeks on the sidelines after suffering a knee injury, the club's assistant manager Cristian Stellini confirmed on Thursday.
The former France international, who captains Spurs, suffered the injury in Sunday's 1-0 win against Premier League champions Manchester City.
Fraser Forster will now step up to the number one position as north London club Spurs, fifth in the Premier League, enter a pivotal part of the season.
Tottenham visit Leicester City on Saturday before resuming their Champions League campaign against AC Milan next week.
Stellini spoke to the press on Thursday in the absence of manager Antonio Conte, who was pictured on the training ground after returning from gallbladder surgery.
"We are all disappointed about Hugo and his injury but we have a good, experienced goalkeeper in Fraser Forster with a great experience in the Premier League and good experience in the Champions League," he said.
"We have a tough five weeks in front of us. We trust in Fraser so we are happy to play with him in the squad and also we say to Hugo 'see you soon'. He needs a good recovery, maybe between five and seven weeks to be back with us."
Forster, who signed from Southampton on a free transfer last year, has played just four times for Spurs so far and has made only one league appearance, in the 2-2 draw with Brentford on 26 December.
Lloris, 36, retired from international football following the recent World Cup in Qatar.
Stellini confirmed Conte had returned.
"Antonio is back," he said. "This morning he was on the pitch with us. He has to take it easy for a bit, but we were so happy to meet him again. He spent time hugging everyone.
"We didn't speak about what he would do in the next match, but he's back and we are happy for that and we have time to arrive to the game ready also with Antonio."
AFP