Tottenham Hotspur assistant manager Cristian Stellini has confirmed that Hugo Lloris is facing five to seven weeks on the sidelines with a knee injury.
The Spurs captain damaged ligaments towards the end of last Sunday's 1-0 win over Manchester City, and reports claimed that he would need up to eight weeks of recovery.
Tottenham are hopeful that Lloris will not need to undergo surgery, but he will miss a period of crucial fixtures, including both legs of their Champions League last-16 clash with AC Milan.
Lloris's first match on the sidelines will come in Saturday's trip to face Leicester City at the King Power Stadium, and Stellini faced the media in Thursday's pre-game press conference.
Standing in for Antonio Conte as he continues his recovery from gallbladder surgery, Stellini admitted that the whole squad was "disappointed" by Lloris's injury, but he has faith in Fraser Forster to step up to the task.
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"Everyone is available for the next game, We are all disappointed about Hugo and his injury, but we have a good experienced goalkeeper like Fraser," Stellini said.
"He has great experience in the Premier League and Champions League, so we have a tough five weeks in front of us, but we trust in Fraser, we are happy to play with him.
"We say to Hugo 'see you soon', because he needs a good recovery, maybe between five and seven weeks to be back with us. I like Fraser like a man because his behaviour this season was perfect.
"He trained so hard and in this he also pushed Hugo to train hard. We mustn't forget that we have men before we have players and I like Fraser. Physically he's perfect for the Premier League and the style we have. He can also use both feet and it will be interesting to see him for the next few weeks."
Forster has started all of Tottenham's three games in the FA Cup and EFL Cup this season, and he stood in for Lloris during Spurs' 2-2 draw with Brentford in the Premier League on Boxing Day following the World Cup.
While Stellini was still on press conference duty on Thursday, Conte made his return to the training ground and oversaw practice after flying back to the UK from Italy on Wednesday.
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The Italian had to have his gallbladder removed after experiencing "severe abdominal pain" following Spurs' FA Cup win over Preston North End in January, and he congratulated his players over the phone following their win over Man City.
Conte is expected to be well enough to return to the touchline at the King Power, but Stellini has remained tight-lipped on who will take charge for Saturday's game.
"Antonio is back. This morning on to the pitch with us. He will have to take it easy for a bit. We were so happy to have him back on the training ground," Stellini added.
"He took time to hug every player. We didn't speak about what he would do in the next match but he is back [with us]. We have time to be ready."
Tottenham sit fifth in the Premier League table but will climb into the top four with a win over Leicester before Newcastle United kick off against Bournemouth on Saturday evening.
Ben Knapton
