Tottenham Hotspur manager Roberto De Zerbi has suffered an injury blow before he's even taken his first training session after Senegal midfielder Pape Matar Sarr missed the match against Zambia on Tuesday.
De Zerbi is due to begin work with his full squad on Friday following the return of multiple stars from international duty, with the players said to be 'excited' at the prospect of working with the Italian.
The 46-year-old has signed a five-year deal at Tottenham with the club hoping he can lead the project to take the club back towards the top of the Premier League, starting with staving off relegation this term.
Dropping into the Championship is a huge concern for a Spurs side who have gone more than three months without a league win.
They will hope to pick up their first Premier League win of 2026 when they face Sunderland on April 12, with seven matches to ensure they remain in England's top tier next term.
De Zerbi will already be concerned that he may have to do it without Sarr though.
Sarr Suffers Shoulder Injury for Senegal
According to the Independent, the 22-year-old midfielder has suffered a shoulder injury that caused him to miss Senegal's clash with Zambia on Tuesday.
Sarr has become the tenth injured Tottenham player who could miss out on De Zerbi's first match at the Stadium of Light, although there is hope that some of those will return for the trip to Wearside.
Mathys Tel, Mohammed Kudus, Rodrigo Bentancur and Ben Davies could all return to face Regis Le Bris' men, and De Zerbi will be hoping that the situation is the same for Sarr too.
It appears as though there are already five guaranteed absences against the Black Cats though, with Wilson Odobert, James Maddison, Yves Bissouma, Guglielmo Vicario and Dejan Kulusevski looking set to miss the game.
A worrying update has emerged on the latter, who is still hoping to appear for Sweden at the World Cup in June.
Kulusevki 'Unable to Walk Upstairs'
Having been seen limping after meeting up with his Sweden teammates ahead of their crucial World Cup playoff matches, Kulusevski took to social media to provide a positive update on his recovery.
He posted on Instagram: "Just to clarify things. I’m limping because I had a small intervention in the knee 2 weeks ago. Went in and took out what was not supposed to be there. Knee is great now. Thanks for all the support. God is the greatest. Always.”
While saying that his knee is now 'great' after almost 12 months on the sidelines, journalist Ryan Taylor has confirmed on X that the 25-year-old is still 'unable to walk upstairs'.
Tottenham will hope to have the Swede back for the start of next season, but the latest update hardly makes it sound like he will be appearing for Sweden in north America this summer, despite his desire to.