Vertonghen could return to Tottenham's XI this weekend

Jan Vertonghen could be immediately installed into Mauricio Pochettino's starting lineup for Sunday's FA Cup fifth-round trip to Fulham.

The Tottenham Hotspur centre-half suffered an ankle injury in his side's 4-0 trouncing of Watford on Jan. 14, and has since been working on his rehabilitation while the first team flits between a back three and back four.

In his stead, Spurs have beaten just fourth-tier Wycombe Wanderers and relegation-threatened Middlesbrough in five competitive outings, the last of which was a damaging 2-0 loss at Liverpool.

"Jan Vertonghen is very well and maybe Sunday he'll be ready to make the starting XI or be on the bench," Pochettino told a press conference ahead of Thursday's Europa League Round of 32 clash against Gent, a club which hails from Vertonghen's native Flemish region of Belgium.

Pochettino also said left-back Danny Rose was "on plan" in his recovery from a knee injury but offered no timeline on his return - Ben Dinnery's Premier Injuries estimates him to be available for March 5's visit from Everton - while Erik Lamela continues a "step-by-step" recovery from a hip issue.

In Thursday's last-32 meeting with Gent, Pochettino will be anticipating manager Hein Vanhaezebrouck's preferred 3-4-3 system, but the 52-year-old handler has been known to switch to a 4-3-3 shape.