It's been reported that a "very creative" Tottenham player is facing potential absence with manager Ange Postecoglou left short in a key area.
Unavailable Spurs players as things stand
Suspensions for Destiny Udogie and Yves Bissouma have added to Postecoglou's woes as Spurs make do without a host of unavailable players right now.
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As things stand, the aforementioned duo, Micky van de Ven, James Maddison, Ryan Sessegnon, Manor Solomon, Ivan Perisic, Rodrigo Bentancur, Alfie Whiteman and Giovani Lo Celso are all unavailable as Postecoglou preps his squad for a weekend clash against in-form Everton.
The Toffees have been rejuvenated by their 10-point deduction and are now out of the Premier League relegation zone. Now could be the worst possible time to face off against Sean Dyche's side, and especially for Spurs, as Postecoglou deals with real shortages in key areas of the squad.
Commenting on the injuries to van de Ven and Maddison, Postecoglou has recently admitted that he's been "struggling" with selecting his Tottenham teams.
"You mentioned James and Micky but you missed out Bentancur, how important Perisic was and when we won those games late, he was the one providing and Manor Solomon," said Postecoglou on Tottenham's injury problems (via football.london).
"I could go on and on. It sounds like excuses but that is the reality of the Premier League and you don't need too much analysis to see why in the last few weeks we haven't been as conclusive in our results as we were earlier in the year. And when I analyse the performances, I've asked guys and I don't know how many positions Deki Kulusevski has played. Ben Davies has turned into a centre-back now, we had Emerson at centre-back, so all these kind of things, there is some logic as to why we slipped a little bit."
The absence of attacking midfielder Lo Celso, who had just started to play his way back into the Spurs team, really doesn't help matters either.
Lo Celso could miss Everton after his Spurs injury
As per Dan Kilpatrick of The Standard, Postecoglou and co have been dealt a worrying update ahead of this weekend. Indeed, Lo Celso could miss Everton with a muscle strain, which would leave Postecoglou seriously lacking alternative options in midfield after Bissouma's suspension.
Oliver Skipp or Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg could be given the nod next to Pape Matar Sarr, but Postecoglou may want a more progressive option in the middle of the park.
The Argentine, who scored away to league champions Man City in a 3-3 draw at the start of December, has also been called "very creative" by Tottenham's manager.
“He’s one of a number of players that has happened to, but you can see technically, he’s a very creative player, he works hard for the team," said Postecoglou on Lo Celso (via The Independent).
“He’ll get an opportunity over the next few weeks to hopefully come in and make an impact.”