Tottenham goalkeeper Hugo Lloris is closing in on first-team action having returned to training this week.

Lloris, 36, has missed Spurs' last nine games, a run which has included humbling exits in the FA Cup and Champions League, as well as defeats to Wolves and Leicester in the Premier League.

The latest setback, a 3-3 draw at Southampton, resulted in Antonio Conte publicly scalding his players for their "seflish" attitude.

But Lloris is now eager to get back to help the North Londoners' fight for a top-four finish.

The Frenchman told the club's official website: "It was good to be back on the pitch, to have that reference.

"Obviously, it’s been a long journey, but step by step I’m closer to a return. 

"I’ll keep working and I’d like to thank all the staff for their help."

Lloris has been sidelined with a knee injury sustained in the final moments of a 1-0 victory over Manchester City on February 5.

Despite securing his seventh clean sheet of the season in the win, scans later showed that the Spurs skipper had ligament damage although no surgery was required.

Lloris explained: "It was a collision with Rodri and when he hit my right leg, I felt a movement. My knee didn’t respond.

"I was ready for the last kick of the game and I kicked a strange ball! 

"At that moment, I realised something was missing. 

"The knee was swollen the next day. Everything feels OK now. I’ll continue to go step by step."

Tottenham will resume their league campaign after the international break at Everton on April 3, a game which will likely come too soon for Lloris to dislodge stand-in stopper Fraser Forster from between the sticks.