Forster in line for big Tottenham role with club captain Lloris ruled out for ‘six to eight weeks’

The PA news agency understands that Tottenham captain Hugo Lloris is set to miss six to eight weeks with a knee injury, giving Fraser Forster the chance to impress.

The French goalkeeper suffered the problem in Sunday’s 1-0 win over Manchester City and will spend a sustained period on the sidelines.

Scans showed he sustained ligament damage following a challenge late in the game, though Lloris is not expected to need surgery.

Fraser Forster will now step up to the number one position as Spurs enter a pivotal part of their season over the next few weeks.

They visit Leicester in the Premier League on Saturday before resuming their Champions League campaign next week against AC Milan, with London derbies versus West Ham and Chelsea also coming up.

Forster, who signed from Southampton on a free transfer last summer, has played just four times so far and made only one Premier League appearance – in the Boxing Day 2-2 draw with Brentford.

Lloris’ absence will be a blow, even though he has been culpable for a number of mistakes this season.

He has made four errors that have led directly to goals – the most in the Premier League – and will be disappointed with a number of other saves he failed to make in recent games.

The 36-year-old, who has recently retired from international football with France following the World Cup, has been a mainstay of the Spurs side since last suffering a bad injury in October 2019.

Spurs learned their FA Cup opponents on Tuesday evening after Sheffield United overcame non-league Wrexham in their fourth-round replay.

Following the match, Blades striker Billy Sharp criticised the Welsh outfit for disrespecting his side.

“I am glad we’ve beaten them,” Sharp told ITV Sport.

“They are doing well in their league and we are doing well in ours, but I wasn’t happy with a few of their players there.

“The way they’ve been as a club before the game, eyeing up Spurs before the game – they had not even beaten us.

“They thought we would just roll over when they got back in it and I think the referee was helping them as well, I don’t think he gave me one foul all night.”

Wrexham defender Ben Tozer defended his team, saying: “I don’t think any of our lads have said anything disrespectful.

“We certainly approached the game properly but if that’s the way they want to be then that’s the way they want to be.

“He [Sharp] should show more respect to us,” Tozer said.

“I said to him face to face ‘show a bit more humility’. We’ve congratulated them on the win. We haven’t come in sulking, we’ve walked as one down the tunnel as normal. It’s just a shame that’s the way it’s ended.

“They showed a real lack of humility. But listen that’s the way they want to be and I feel that if we’d won that game, we would have shown a lot more humility and respect.”

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