Tottenham Hotspur manager Mauricio Pochettino will resist the temptation to sign a replacement for Jan Vertonghen in the January transfer window as the centre back's ankle injury is not as bad as first feared.
The Belgium international rolled his ankle in Tottenham's 4-0 Premier League win over West Bromwich Albion last weekend that lifted them to second in the Premier League table, seven points behind leaders Chelsea.
Vertonghen, who has featured in 20 of Spurs' 21 league games this season, should be out for six weeks, shorter than initially expected, Pochettino said, adding that the 29-year old did not require surgery.
"Jan Vertonghen is okay, he's very positive. We're pushing him a lot. We expect six weeks, less than at first," the manager told a news conference on Thursday.
"We don't want to set the time limit. When your mind is positive it's easier to recover. He doesn't require surgery.
"We have plenty of players that can perform in his place and we are very happy with the squad and the players we have."
There was less positive news on the condition of midfielder Erik Lamela, with no clear timeline for the return of the Argentina international who has been out since the end of October with a troublesome hip complaint.
"Tomorrow he (Lamela) will have a scan," Pochettino added. "Still it is difficult to give the time that he can come back. We need to wait tomorrow because there is still some problems, and we are still not sure of the diagnosis.
"Now we start to be concerned about him because he is three months and still in a situation that has not moved on."
Tottenham travel to the Etihad Stadium to take on Manchester City in the league on Saturday, with Pep Guardiola's men likely to be desperate to make amends after dropping into fifth place following a 4-0 drubbing at Everton last weekend.