Mali and Tottenham Hotspur are working together to ensure captain Yves Bissouma gets back to his best during the Africa Cup of Nations following a challenging six months, according to Eagles head coach Tom Saintfiet.
The 29-year-old has been named in Mali's AFCON squad despite not playing a competitive fixture for his club since May, amidst fitness and disciplinary problems under incoming Spurs head coach Thomas Frank.
However, Saintfiet believes that Bissouma can still be among Mali's key players at the Nations Cup, having worked in tandem with his Premier League employers to give the central midfielder the best chance of featuring in Morocco.
"It's sad that he's been inactive for a few months because of injury," Saintfiet told ESPN, "but we are working together with Tottenham to get him back, and we hope that he'll be on the pitch during the AFCON to help our team.
"He's always a major player for our team on and off the pitch, and we need him on our way to success."
Saintfiet handed Bissouma seven minutes of action in October, during Mali's World Cup qualifying victory over Madagascar in Bamako, but acknowledges that the midfielder is short of match fitness heading into the biennial showpiece.
Bissouma has struggled with knee and ankle injuries during the first five months of the Premier League season, even undergoing ankle surgery in October, while he was also cut from Spurs' squad for the August UEFA Super Cup clash with Paris Saint-Germain by Frank due to persistent lateness.
"He's a leader, a personality, an intelligent footballer, and he helps the team a lot," Saintfiet continued. "We're helping him step by step to get [back to match sharpness], but we don't put any pressure.
"We know that maybe game one will be too early for him, but we'll see when he's ready," he concluded. "We have a lot of good players, but we could on him, on and off the pitch, as our team captain."
While Frank has insisted the door is open to Bissouma returning to first-team contention at Tottenham when fit, he has also had to contend with further disciplinary issues, with the UK media reporting earlier this month that he had been filmed inhaling nitrous oxide for a second time.
He was previously handed a one-match ban at the start of the 2024-25 season for a similar offence, when footage emerged of him breathing in laughing gas.
Entering the final six months of his contract with Tottenham, it remains to be seen whether the 29-year-old has a future in North London beyond the end of this season, with the likes of West Ham United and Everton previously understood to be interested in the ex-Brighton man.
Spurs are also understood to have the option to activate a one-year extension to Bissouma's contract if they so desire.
Mali open their AFCON campaign against Zambia in Casablanca on Monday, before they face hosts Morocco in Rabat four days later. Their Group A mission will conclude with a showdown with Comoros on December 29.