Dejan Kulusevski has missed out on Tottenham Hotspur's New Year's Day Premier League game against Aston Villa with a muscle injury.
The 22-year-old has been ruled out of the game with a slight muscle injury and he will have a scan on the problem on Monday, with Spurs boss Antonio Conte hopeful that he will only miss the match against Unai Emery's team. If that was the case then that could see him back in action in midweek for the trip to Crystal Palace.
Kulusevski's absence hands Bryan Gil a chance with his first Premier League start for the club. The 21-year-old Spaniard has been linked with a loan move out of the club in the coming January transfer window but now he has a big chance to impress Conte in the first game of 2023.
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Kulusevski missed out on a month of football before the World Cup with a hamstring injury suffered on international duty with Sweden. However, he had looked sharp with two assists in two games before the break and then worked hard on his return only for this latest small setback.
The Swede has become a key man for Tottenham since joining on a loan-to-buy deal from Juventus last year, and he has contributed 19 direct goal involvements from 28 Premier League games with 13 assists and six goals.
His absence and Gil's promotion to the starting XI leaves a bench without any natural attacking options with wing-back Ryan Sessegnon the only player known for playing further up the pitch.
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