Antonio Conte was greeted by another grievous setback on his return to duty at Tottenham as midfielder Yves Bissouma suffered a stress fracture to his left ankle.
Spurs were already without captain Hugo Lloris for Saturday's trip to Leicester after their goalkeeper was laid off for up to eight weeks with knee ligament damage. In a fresh blow, Bissouma will have surgery on Friday and faces a prolonged spell on the sidelines.
It was hardly the welcome back to the shop floor head coach Conte would have picked following his gallbladder operation last week, which forced the Italian to miss the 1-0 win against Manchester City while he convalesced at home.
Bissouma's setback is another blow for Spurs as they approach a critical fortnight in their season on three fronts in Europe, the FA Cup and the top-four race in the Premier League. Tottenham were already without first-choice midfielder Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg for Tuesday's Champions League last-16 tie against AC Milan at San Siro due to suspension, meaning Pape Sarr or Oliver Skipp will be required to help Rodrigo Bentancur screen the back five.
Now, Bissouma is the latest casualty and was spotted leaving the training ground on crutches and in a protective boot on Thursday. Earlier, Conte's assistant, Cristiano Stellini, had spoken earnestly of the club “trusting” former England keeper Fraser Forster to hold the fort in Lloris' absence – with two rookies as back-up.
Forster, 34, will deputise for the French World Cup winner while 24-year-olds Brandon Austin and Alfie Whiteman, neither of whom have played a minute of first-team football for the club, compete for a place on the bench. The next two weeks could define Tottenham's season, with a Champions League tie against AC Milan, an FA Cup date at Sheffield United and the top-four race hotting up in the Premier League all in the melting pot.
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Stellini said: “We are all disappointed about Hugo and his injury. However, we have a good, experienced goalkeeper in Forster with great experience in the Premier League and the Champions League with Celtic. We have a tough five weeks in front of us, but we trust in Fraser and we are happy with him in the squad. We say to Hugo, ‘See you soon’, but he needs a good recovery - maybe between five and seven weeks to be back with us.”
Lloris has suffered an error-strewn season at club level, although he helped France to reach a second successive World Cup final, and Stellini insisted: “It is always better to have Hugo with us.
“All keepers make mistakes sometimes and it’s not good to have an injury. We prefer to have Hugo with us, but if he had a nervy moment after the World Cup, Hugo has recovered well and he could use this time to recover mentally.
“I have to say the first thing I like about Fraser is as a man, because he is a very good man. His behaviour in this season was perfect. Every day, he pushes himself to train really hard and with this behaviour, he pushes Hugo to train very hard. We don't have to forget we are men before we are players, and I like Fraser. It will be interesting to see him for some weeks to play with us. We trust in him, we completely trust in him.”
Spurs have considered bringing 39-year-old Ben Foster, who was released by Watford last summer, out of retirement, but they would need special dispensation from the Premier League to add him to their 25-man squad. So, Austin and Whiteman will travel to the King Power Stadium as Forster's reserves for Saturday's game at Leicester.
Stellini said: “We will be confident if we need to play with them because they work with us every day and we understand their level. We have to keep their confidence in the work they have done for a long time, and that is our confidence to use them if needed in the games.”
