Ahead of Tottenham Hotspur's home clash against Newcastle United, eight players from both sides are expected to be absent
At least eight players are expected to be absent for Tottenham Hotspur''s battle with Newcastle United. Roberto De Zerbi's side's first Premier League home clash is one against a new-look, but confident, Newcastle.
Matthias Jaissle's team came so close to beating Liverpool in their first match. Spurs go into the contest wounded having been comprehensively beaten 3-0 by Brentford in west London.
De Zerbi did at least have one big injury boost in regards to Spurs' squad, as Mohammed Kudus could be set for his first Premier League appearance since January, although it would not be a surprise if he chooses not to risk the Ghanaian.
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When it comes to Spurs, Xavi Simons and Wilson Odobert are long-term absentees who will play no part. The pair are both recovering from ACL ruptures from last season and will not be available until February and December respectively.
Dejan Kulusevski is also expected to be unavailable, but De Zerbi did suggest he is close to recovery, saying: "Kulusevski [is] fit and right, he's one of the best players we have in the squad.
"I wouldn't like to put too much pressure on him to accelerate the process of rehab, but I hope he can be available as early as possible."
For Newcastle, Jaissle is missing plenty of key players. He revealed Joelinton will be absent for the next fortnight, saying: “He's out for a couple of weeks.
"I don't want to go too much into detail as there will always be specialists involved. The medical department are aware of it, and I'm really confident that he will be back ASAP."
William Osula looks set to be unavailable, although Jaissle believes his injury is not too serious and that there's a chance he could feature, stating: "We will need to see. Hopefully, it's not that serious. He will be back as soon as possible as well. For now, it looks quite good."
England international Dan Burn is a major absentee for the next couple of weeks, with the Newcastle boss adding: "With Dan, it's clear that he will be out for a couple of weeks.
"How long exactly? That will be decided. But for sure, our medical department is excellent, so he will be back on the grass as soon as possible."