Tottenham wing-back Sergio Reguilon could miss the rest of the season with a groin injury.
The Spaniard has sat out the last two games with the problem and Antonio Conte is unsure whether he will return for the remaining four games of the campaign, starting with Saturday’s trip to Liverpool.
With Matt Doherty out for the rest of the campaign with a knee injury it leaves Spurs down to just two wing-backs in the shape of Emerson Royal and Ryan Sessegnon.
“Reguilon’s not available,” Conte said.
“He hasn’t trained with us and honestly I don’t know as there are only two weeks until the end of the season whether it will be possible for him to come back this season.”
Conte said loan star Dejan Kulusevski is “100 per cent” a Tottenham player.
The Swede, who has been a sensation since joining from Juventus in the January transfer window, is on an 18-month loan, but Spurs have the option to buy, which would turn into an obligation should certain on-field criteria be met.
Conte has no concerns about Kulusevski’s future, saying: “He’s on loan but it’s like a deal ended. He’s a Tottenham player, 100 per cent in every aspect.
“Not officially but he’s 100 per cent a Tottenham player.”
Gym work 🏋️ pic.twitter.com/qZoIqqJNLc— Tottenham Hotspur (@SpursOfficial) May 5, 2022
Spurs’ pursuit of Champions League football faces a huge test as they visit Anfield on Saturday, with Liverpool’s quest for the quadruple in full flow.
The Reds have only dropped two points in the Premier League since January 2 – a draw against title rivals Manchester City – and Conte has hailed them as “incredible”.
“When you arrive at this point of the season and you are in a race for every target, it gives you a big, big push to do something incredible,” he said.
“I think Jurgen Klopp is doing a fantastic job with his team. It is not easy, especially for an English team to arrive at the end of the season to stay in the race for all the competitions that you compete.
“It is incredible, you can see Liverpool’s players run a lot, they have not had many injuries. Their enthusiasm is not 100 per cent it is 200 per cent.
“You don’t feel the fatigue when you reach this point. We want to go there to play our game and we know we are in a race for the Champions League and we need to find a way to get a point in every game.
“They know they are strong, they are one of the best teams in the world. It will be a good game for us. We prepared the game very well and I think we need to be very good without the ball, to be good defensively, but if we want to win we have to be very good with the ball.
“I said this to my players, we need to play a good game and be brave when we have the ball, don’t be scared for all the pressure and to find the solution.
“We have improved a lot. We are in this race for a place in the Champions League and for this reason we need to get points in every game. Every game is a big chance for us to improve the table. In this game we have to try and beat Liverpool.”
