By Betsefy
Tottenham Hotspur have been handed a double injury boost ahead of Wednesday’s Champions League clash with Eintracht Frankfurt.
The Lilywhites have picked up four points from their opening three European games to sit second in Group D after last week’s 0-0 draw at the Deutsche Bank Park.
Antonio Conte‘s side are only above Frankfurt on goal difference and also sit just one clear of fourth-placed Marseille, with Sporting Lisbon at the top in the tightly-fought section.
Victory would see Tottenham rise to the top of the rankings if Marseille can replicate their success over Sporting from last week, and Conte has received numerous fitness boosts at an ideal time.
The North London club opened up a portion of their training session to the media on Tuesday morning, during which Dejan Kulusevski, Lucas Moura and Japhet Tanganga were all spotted with the team.
⚪ Dejan Kulusevski, Lucas Moura and Japhet Tanganga back in Tottenham training ahead of their Champions League fixture 💪 pic.twitter.com/FcDNt2c4oL
— Football Daily (@footballdaily) October 11, 2022
Kulusevski has been absent since coming back from the international break with a hamstring problem, missing each of Tottenham’s three clashes with Arsenal, Frankfurt and Brighton & Hove Albion.
Fellow attacker Lucas has been struggling with tendon problems throughout the season, and the Brazilian has only played 12 minutes for Spurs in all competitions in 2022-23 – most recently coming off the bench against Chelsea in August.
Meanwhile, Tanganga has not made the cut for any of Spurs’ three games this month either, and he was reported to have picked up a fresh knock after undergoing knee surgery back in March.
However, all three players were pictured out on the grass ahead of the visit of the Europa League holders, but Conte revealed that Kulusevski would not be ready to make his comeback on Wednesday after missing the main part of the training session.
Lucas has been given the green light to make the bench, and Emerson Royal will be back at Tottenham’s disposal amid his domestic ban, while Harry Kane played down concerns of an ankle injury after his side’s success over Brighton.
© Reuters
“The ankle is OK, no twist or anything, so I’m pretty sure it’s fine,” the England captain told reporters after scoring the game-winning goal at the Amex Stadium.
The quick return of Lucas comes as something of a surprise, as Conte admitted before the North London derby that he was “really worried” about the 30-year-old’s condition.
However, Lucas could now be in line for his first European minutes of the season against Frankfurt, while Tanganga is aiming to make just his second outing of the campaign in any competition.
In Kulusevski and Lucas’s absence, Conte experimented with a 3-5-2 system for the win over Brighton, as Yves Bissouma joined Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg and Rodrigo Bentancur in the middle.
Richarlison was forced to accept a spot on the bench at the Amex, although he replaced Bissouma with 20 minutes remaining, and Conte will likely consider a return to a 3-4-3 on Wednesday with Moura now back in the squad.
