Tottenham Hotspur have been rocked by injury in the midst of their worst start to a season in 96 years. Following a humiliating defeat to Premiership newcomers Hull over the weekend, the club found out that it will be without the services of striker Roman Pavlyuchenko for the next three weeks.

“Roman will now undergo further treatment on the ankle after specialists declared him unfit to play for the next three weeks,” Tottenham Hotspur said in a statement.

This injury setback means that the Spurs will begin their UEFA Cup group stage campaign short of a world class striker. Pavlyuchenko’s injury will deal a severe blow to under-fire manager Juande Ramos, whose only successes this season have come in the UEFA Cup.

The Spurs attack has looked toothless since the club lost the services of strikers Robbie Keane, Dimitar Berbatov and Jermaine Defoe to other Premiership clubs, scoring only four goals in Premiership matches this season.

Prior to his injury Pavlyuchenko had played alone up front for Tottenham Hotspur, with his failure to score any Premiership goals highlighting the lack of attacking depth in Ramos’ squad.

Second-string striker Darren Brent is likely to be given the opportunity to make his Premiership and UEFA Cup debuts in Pavlyuchenko’s absence.