Antonio Conte has said Dejan Kulusevski needs “a bit of time” to return to fitness after suffering a setback in his recovery from a hamstring injury last week.
Kulusevski has not played since tweaking his hamstring on international duty last month but Conte hopes to have the Swede available before the World Cup.
Asked whether if he’s worried about Kulusevski not returning until after the World Cup, the Italian gaffer said:
“Yeah. His recovery was going well and then one day the situation worsened. When this happens you have to restart. You need time, you need time. We have the medical department to face injury situations and they have to face it in a short period. If you are good to solve it in a quick way then it can mean points.”
The north London outfit face Newcastle at home on Sunday as they look to get back to winning ways after their 2-0 defeat at Manchester United.
But they will once again be without Swedish forward Kulusevski, who has missed the last six games in all competitions out with a thigh injury
With Richarlison also out injured, the Spurs boss joked he may need to put his boots back on with Lucas Moura still not ready to start.
“Kulusevski is not available. I think we have to wait a bit of time to see him with us. It is the same for Richarlison.”
“Lucas is not ready to start and then for sure this type of situation creates you a big difficulty. We have in this moment Harry and Sonny in good health. (Laughs) Fingers crossed, I hope to continue otherwise I have to put on the shoes to play!
After a meek defeat at the hands of Manchester United on Wednesday, Antonio Conte ruled his side out of the Premier League title race despite their healthy position.
In his eyes, the challenge is keeping Spurs in the top four and those aspirations will be put to the test when Eddie Howe’s side visit.
Newcastle are one of the Premier League’s form sides and have taken top six teams all the way this season, arriving in north London full of confidence.
