Tottenham Hotspur have been hit with an injury crisis taking out most of their key men. Deli Alli, Christen Eriksen, Jan Vertonghen, Mousa Dembele and Serge Aurier have all been sidelined due to various issues.

Vital games coming up in Europe and at home against Barcelona and Manchester City will put pressure on Maurico Pochettino to call on the right guys to cover his thinning roster.

The wrong call could see vital points slip, with Spurs already coming home empty-handed following a late capitulation at the San Siro having held an early second half lead.

Another defeat in the Champions League could see Tottenham struggle to progress to the Round of 16, as Inter Milan will look to continue building momentum by easing past PSV.

In the Premier League, the story is eerily similar with Spurs flip-flopping for form and sitting on the edge of the top 4. If Pochettino calls on the wrong players, further ground could be lost with Arsenal snapping at their heels.

Here are three players that must prove they are able to fill the voids in the coming weeks…

Fernando Llorente has a heavy weight on his shoulders, having arrived at Tottenham over a year ago but yet to show why Daniel Levy was willing to sign off on his transfer fee.

In sporadic spells in the side, Llorente was able to contribute just a single goal in the Premier League last season. It just so happens that goal came against his former team Swansea.

As for cup appearances, the Spanish striker, 33, found finding the net far easier than in the Premier League, notching three goals in seven FA Cup games.

Harry Kane isn’t currently on Tottenham’s injury list but with so many key players absent, Pochettino will feel a greater need to protect his star man in the coming weeks and Llorente offers the England skipper some invaluable respite.

It was far from a perfect loan spell at Burnley for Georges-Kevin Nkoudou last season, starting eight games and making a further six substitute appearances without scoring.

But the start-of-the-season success story for Lucas Moura should leave Nkoudou quietly confident that he can follow in the Brazilian’s footsteps and forge a first-team spot for himself.

The French winger still has age on his side but the injuries to Alli and Eriksen have presented an opportunity to jump in sooner.

Nkoudou started pre-season strongly for Tottenham with a goal in the International Champions Cup, but he is yet to make a competitive appearance this term.

Following the transfer of his almost namesake, Kyle Walker-Peters was handed a chance to play for the first team by Mauricio Pochettino in the 2017/18 season.

In all of his three starts, Tottenham went on to pick up all three points as Walker-Peters impressed in his early senior games. The London-born full-back showed he has more to his game than just defending too, getting forward to set up a goal .

The improving form of Serge Aurier and Kieran Trippier across the remainder of last season saw Walker-Peter’s first-team chances reduce. But with Aurier ruled out due to a thigh injury, the Englishman could now act as the rotation right-back with his countryman.