Antonio Conte has vowed not to “take stupid risks” with Dejan Kulusevski’s fitness as he ruled the Tottenham star out of the weekend game against Everton.
A hamstring injury has kept the Swedish winger out for over a fortnight and he will miss the visit of the Toffees, as well as potentially the midweek trip to Manchester United.
Speaking on Friday, Conte confirmed a fresh scan took place before the Everton game with Kulusevski still not in a “perfect” state to play.
He said: “I think we need to have a bit of patience with him - don’t take stupid risks.
“Because we have to play a lot of games from now until the end. It will be very important to recover him very well.”
On the player potentially featuring against United, he added: “In this moment, honestly, it is a bit difficult to answer yes or not.
“It depends, it depends on the new MRI that he did today. About what the doctors say about his situation. Also the feeling of the player.
“Because in this situation it is important to respect the feeling of the player, because the player has to feel 100 per cent, otherwise it’s not good to take stupid risks.”
Conte stated that every other player is fit to face Everton, although Emerson Royal is suspended, following fears that Richarlison had picked up a knee injury in the win over Eintracht Frankfurt.
