Mauricio Pochettino insists the Tottenham careers of Emmanuel Adebayor, Younes Kaboul and Etienne Capoue are not over despite the trio not being involved since January.
After being appointed head coach at White Hart Lane last summer, the former Argentina international handed experienced defender Kaboul the captain's armband.
Hugo Lloris was named as one of his deputies alongside Adebayor, although the former is the only one of the three to have established himself as a regular under Pochettino.
Kaboul, Adebayor and Capoue all looked set to exit before the January transfer window closed, and have not featured since moves away failed to materialise.
It is now eight matches in all competitions since any of them were named in a matchday squad, yet Pochettino indicated they were still in his plans.
"Always for every game it's my decision, my choice," the Spurs head coach said when asked about the trio at his Friday news conference.
"I think that you understand. In the end, all of our squad is fully fit and you need to pick players. I am happy with all, but if we have 26 or 27 players in the squad then more than 18 is impossible."
A return to the squad against Queens Park Rangers in Saturday's rearranged Premier League match looks unlikely given Pochettino has a fully fit squad to choose from.
The trip to Loftus Road will be their sixth match in a 17-day period and one in which a win is needed to bolster their top-four hopes.
"We are expecting a very tough game," Pochettino said. "QPR is a strong team and we play in their home.
"It will be a very difficult game. It's a local derby, a London derby. I think the three points will be important for them and for us, too."
Keeping Charlie Austin quiet will be key if Spurs are to come away from west London with a positive result.
The striker has netted 15 top-flight goals for QPR this season, with the latest coming in Wednesday's 2-1 defeat to Arsenal.
"Charlie Austin is a very good player," Pochettino added. "This season he has scored a lot of goals. He is a very good player and we need to focus on him but on [Bobby] Zamora and other players, too."