Tottenham star Moussa Sissoko set for a month on the sidelines

Tottenham's Moussa Sissoko looks set to be sidelined for about a month after suffering a groin injury against Man Utd.

The midfielder pulled up during the first half of the 1-0 defeat at Wembley on Sunday and now faces a race to recover in time for the first leg of Tottenham’s Champions League last-16 tie against Borussia Dortmund on February 13.

Spurs were assessing Sissoko today but he is not expected to be available for their tricky run of five games in two weeks, starting with Sunday’s game at Fulham and including the second leg of the EFL Cup semi-final against Chelsea, the FA Cup tie at Crystal Palace and League meetings with Watford and Newcastle United.

Sissoko has become an increasingly important figure for Tottenham this season.  Having struggled initially when he joined for £30million from Newcastle in 2016, he is now one of Mauricio Pochettino’s go-to players in big matches and his absence leaves the team even weaker in midfield, where the manager’s resources are already thin.

Mousa Dembele is expected to complete a move to Chinese Super League club Beijing Guoan, while Victor Wanyama is still out with a knee problem and Eric Dier has missed the last five weeks after undergoing surgery on his appendix.

Harry Winks is currently Spurs’ only fit senior midfielder, with 18-year-old Oliver Skipp, who has made only two starts for the club, effectively his understudy.

Sissoko, 29, had started 10 of Tottenham’s 11 most recent games and completed 90 minutes in all but one of those.

It remains to be seen whether Spurs will enter the transfer market to replace him.

They are thought to be examining possible midfield targets, although January remains a difficult time to do business and the club’s new £1billion stadium — for which they have been unable to confirm an opening date — remains a significant financial burden.