Tottenham are set to be boosted by an early return from injury for midfielder Rodrigo Bentancur, while James Maddison is also racing to be fit before the end of the season.
Tottenham injury list easing ahead of domestic return
Roberto De Zerbi is sweating on a number of first-team players ahead of his first test in charge of Tottenham.
The trip to the Stadium of Light will come too soon for Mohammed Kudus, who suffered a serious muscle injury in January.
"So we have this big three weeks after the game on Sunday. He will probably do some part of the things with the squad maybe 10 days (after the break)," Igor Tudor said before his departure.
"I don’t know I’m not sure. We need to check but he is progressing very well. Already a little bit with the ball."
Both Kudus and goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario could return next week for the home fixture against Brighton, while Mathys Tel should be able to feature at Sunderland.
Tudor also provided a positive update on James Maddison, with the England international sharing videos on social media working outside with a ball and expected to play some part in the run-in.
There's more good news on Bentancur, who required surgery on a hamstring problem and missed Tudor's entire reign.
Bentancur at least two weeks ahead of schedule
According to Football.London, Bentancur 'has already returned to working on the grass' and taken part in some training sessions.
The Uruguay international is 'around 15 days' beyond his original timeline, claims his personal fitness coach, and hopes to play some minutes before the end of April.
This is a huge boost for De Zerbi, with Alasdair Gold recently claiming the new manager will love the tough-tackling midfielder.
"I've got a funny feeling that he's gonna like Rodrigo Bentancur as well.
"And I know again he's a player that's not everyone's cup of tea, but I think in terms of tactical and possession based football, yes he can be a little bit iffy with his passing sometimes, but actually, as someone that was used to being in the hub of that Juventus team, the three-time Serie A title winners, I think he could fit in quite well." - Click for full story
Bentancur currently earns £75,000-a-week in North London, having signed a long-term deal with the club back in October.
The 28 year-old featured regularly in the Premier League this season before his injury.
De Zerbi has typically deployed a 4-2-3-1 formation at Marseille and Brighton, a system which would lend itself to partnering Bentancur with a more technical midfielder in the deep-lying roles.