Tottenham could be without Michael Dawson for up to three weeks after he suffered a thigh injury in Saturday's 3-0 Premier League win at Derby.The 24-year-old limped off holding the back of his right thigh after just 14 minutes at Pride Park and was replaced by Younes Kaboul, who scored the second goal in Spurs' win.

Dawson will definitely miss Thursday's UEFA Cup trip to Slavia Prague, but manager Juande Ramos remains uncertain about the length of his absence.

"It is just one of those typical things that happens in football," said Ramos. "We think it is a muscle tear but we won't know how bad it is until we have a proper look at him.

"But at this early stage it may be something that means two or three weeks out."

With Ledley King still struggling for fitness, Spurs could find themselves short of defensive cover in the Czech Republic.

Ramos added: "We hope he recovers as quickly as possible but it is all part and parcel of football.

"We know that injuries happen and you can miss key players, but what we do is we choose from the players we have got and we try and pick the right team for the right occasion."

Asked whether King would be fit for the game, the Spaniard said: "I have not had an updated report from any of the club's doctors or medical teams.

"But we are still four or five days away so we will make a judgement later in the week."

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