Chelsea's Marco van Ginkel will be absent for at least six months after he tore his anterior cruciate ligament against Swindon Town on Tuesday.
Fellow midfielder Ramires also picked up an injury in that match and is rated doubtful.
It will be a case of master versus apprentice when Andre Villas-Boas' Tottenham Hotspur play host to Jose Mourinho's Chelsea.
Villas-Boas spent several years working alongside Mourinho during his first spell in charge at Stamford Bridge and a productive stint in Italy with Inter Milan.
A parting of ways, as Villas-Boas left his scouting days behind and looked to forge a coaching career of his own, has led to a breakdown in a once formidable friendship.
The rivalry in the dugouts at White Hart Lane on Saturday should help to add extra spice to what is already a London derby with plenty riding on it.
Spurs have made an impressive start to the season following a summer of heavy investment and one high-profile departure - with 12 points from five games leaving them level with arch-rivals Arsenal at the top of the Premier League standings.
Tottenham also boast the meanest defence in the division, having been breached just once, but Chelsea have been watertight at the back themselves - conceding only twice.
Goal scoring has been something of an issue for both sides - with Spurs netting on five occasions in as many outings and Chelsea on six - but the enviable array of attacking talent available to Villas-Boas and Mourinho suggests they will start firing at some stage.
Now they face another test - and for Spurs it's arguably a stiffer one - Chelsea.
Stiffer because it would be hard to overstate just how useless Spurs have been against Chelsea over the last couple of decades. Since 1990 the clubs have met 55 times in league and cup, with Tottenham winning only five games to Chelsea's 31. Spurs have won a meagre three Premier League encounters in 42 attempts.
It's a record so poor that you'd forgive Tottenham for just sending the points weaving through the London traffic on the back of a courier's bike to Stamford Bridge, saving themselves the bother of lacing their boots.
Former Tottenham goalkeeper Erik Thorsvedt repeated it, but it was our own Garth Crooks who actually coined the saying of the season so far. Asked to comment on Spurs' summer transfer dealings an inspired Garth replied: "They've sold Elvis and bought The Beatles."
So far, so true: Roberto Soldado, Paulinho, Christian Eriksen and Erik Lamela have looked a pretty fab four as Spurs have won eight of nine games and conceded just one goal, though that solitary goal did lead to defeat in the game they would most have wanted to win - the derby at Arsenal.
Opponent: Tottenham Hotspur, 12 pts, +4 GD, 2nd in current Premier League table
Date/Time: Saturday, September 28, 2013 at 12:45 BST (7:45 am EST, 4:45 am PST, 17:15 IST)
Venue/Location: White Hart Lane, London, England
