Weekend Briefing: key players close to Spurs return

Triple boost for Tottenham

Ben Davies (ankle), Erik Lamela (groin) and Giovani Lo Celso (thigh) are reportedly on the mend and could be involved in Tottenham's trip to Aston Villa on Sunday.

None of the trio were available for the FA Cup fourth-round replay at home to Southampton, forcing Jose Mourinho to choose from a threadbare squad.

However, a patched-up Spurs side rode their luck to defeat Southampton 3-2 and the Londoners are likely to be in much better shape for their clash at Villa Park.

January signing Steven Bergwijn, who was ineligible to face Southampton, is also set to return but Spurs will be without long-term absentees Moussa Sissoko (knee) and Harry Kane (hamstring).

Mourinho has suggested that Kane will not be available until May but Sissoko looks on course to return sooner after posting footage of himself at Tottenham's Hotspur Way training centre this week.

However, there still may be some way to go for Sissoko, who was originally scheduled to return to full training in April.

Fourth defender crocked for Crystal Palace

The winter break has come at a good time for Crystal Palace, who are nursing injuries to four of their senior defenders.

Centre-back Mamadou Sakho (thigh) and left-back Jeffrey Schlupp (hip) have been absent for several weeks and they have been joined by right-back Martin Kelly (muscle strain) and James Tomkins (hamstring) in the treatment room.

Kelly's injury was revealed by Roy Hodgson last Friday and Tomkins was crocked during last Saturday's 3-1 loss at Everton, leaving the action after 60 minutes.

Hodgson expects Tomkins to be sidelined for "a few weeks", leaving him heavily reliant on Gary Cahill and Scott Dann, who are Palace's only remaining fit central defenders.

Dann's season has been heavily disrupted by injuries but the 32-year-old returned from a seven-week absence when coming off the bench at Goodison Park.

Bayern Munich welcome back key duo

Bayern Munich's eight-match winning sequence came to an end with last Saturday's 0-0 draw at home to title rivals RB Leipzig but there were a couple of major boosts for the Bavarians, who welcomed back French internationals Kingsley Coman and Lucas Hernandez from injury.

Hernandez was snapped up in a £68m deal from Atletico Madrid last summer but made just six appearances for his new club before undergoing ankle surgery last October.

However, he made his long-awaited return in the 67th minute of the goalless draw against Leipzig and was soon followed by Coman, who replaced Leon Goretzka with less than six minutes of normal time remaining.

Both players should be fully fit when Bayern face Chelsea at Stamford Bridge in the first leg of their Champions League round-of-16 tie on February 25.

Oxford United point comes at a cost

Matty Taylor's injury-time goal helped Oxford salvage a 2-2 draw from Tuesday's trip to Burton but there was a price to pay for Karl Robinson's side with midfielder Liam Kelly coming off with a hamstring injury and his replacement, Alex Gorrin, picking up a tenth yellow card of the campaign.

Kelly looks set for a spell on the sidelines and the combative Gorrin starts a two-game suspension, meaning both will be unavailable for Saturday's clash at home to promotion rivals Sunderland.

Oxford's squad was weakened when they sold midfielder Shandon Baptiste and winger Tarique Fosu to Brentford at the end of the transfer window, and they are set to face the Black Cats without winger Marcus Browne, who suffered an ankle injury during last Saturday's 4-0 defeat at Peterborough.

Options are thin on the ground for Robinson, who will hope to have striker Jamie Mackie available.

Mackie was a late withdrawal from the squad to face Burton due to a family bereavement.

Accies' injuries increase

Second-bottom Hamilton's problems increased on Tuesday with captain Brian Easton suffering a shoulder injury during a 3-1 defeat at home to Aberdeen in the Ladbrokes Premiership.

Easton looks set for a spell on the sidelines and will almost certainly miss Saturday's key relegation battle away to basement boys Hearts.

Accies' manager Brian Rice could also be without on-loan Scunthorpe winger Andy Dales and experienced striker Steve Davies, who missed out on Tuesday after sustaining injuries in last Saturday's 4-1 loss at home to Rangers in the William Hill Scottish Cup fifth round.

And Rice will still be without the services of his top scorer, George Oakley, who has missed the last three weeks with a hamstring injury.

Today's top sports betting stories

Follow us on Twitter @racingpostsport

Like us on Facebook RacingPostSport