Tottenham boss Antonio Conte is not happy to be playing so quickly after the World Cup and has hinted he will select those who have remained in England for the Boxing Day clash at Brentford.
Out of the 12 Tottenham players who featured in Qatar, Conte has ruled France goalkeeper Hugo Lloris and Argentina’s Cristian Romero, who played in the final last Sunday, out of Monday’s game.
“It is a strange situation and honestly to play so quickly, only one week after the World Cup, I am not really happy,” Conte said in comments published in British media on Sunday. “It is impossible to give them a lot of rest and for sure with the players that didn’t play the World Cup and we work for four weeks… Now they are at a level that is better than the players who finished the World Cup.
“For this reason I think I have to make the best decision for the game against Brentford,” Conte said, adding that the players who returned from the World Cup are “not at the top” level at the moment.
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Rodrigo Bentancur will also miss out due to suspension but has also been nursing a minor hamstring issue. The same injury will sideline Richarlison for a month and Lucas Moura’s problem with his tendon continues.
The Italian has a decision to make over Croatia’s Ivan Perisic as well as England pair Harry Kane and Eric Dier after the trio all made the last eight.
Son Heung-min also got some minutes in the draw with Nice, while Kane has been pictured back in training ahead of the trip to Brentford.
