Kulusevski takes important step
Tottenham fans were given a boost on Tuesday afternoon when footage of Dejan Kulusevski training at Hotspur Way emerged on Sky Sports News. Not featuring since the Boxing Day draw at Brentford due to a small muscle injury, all connected with the club have had their fingers crossed that the influential player returns in time for Sunday's North London Derby against Arsenal.
The footage from Sky Sports did show Kulusevski working on some running exercises with two of the club's coaches away from the rest of the squad on the training pitch. A further positive Tottenham fans can take from his return to training is that a number of photos showed that he was working with the ball rather than just focusing on running drills.
Now four days away from the derby clash at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, Spurs will be doing all they can to ensure Kulusevski can play a part.
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Bissouma boost
Tuesday also saw Yves Bissouma back with his teammates after missing out on last Saturday's FA Cup third round win over Portsmouth. The midfielder was due to start the game but unfortunately had to pull out ten minutes before kick-off due to a small knock sustained in the warm-up.
Speaking after the 1-0 victory, Tottenham assistant head coach Cristian Stellini did confirm that Bissouma would "absolutely" be fit for the Arsenal encounter. While Kulusevski worked away from the rest of the squad, his teammate got down to business with those training at Hotspur Way.
Bissouma could be seen on the ball in a small-sided game, which is certainly a very good sign having had to miss out against Portsmouth three days earlier.
Youngsters included
As is usually the case in Tottenham training, a handful of the club's youngsters stepped up from the academy to train with the first team. Alfie Devine was there once again having made his senior home debut at the weekend in the final few minutes of the Portsmouth match.
Making such a big impression since his switch from Wigan Athletic in July 2020, the midfielder will now be targeting his Premier League bow after making the matchday squad on a handful of occasions in the past. Devine was joined in first-team training by fellow academy players Matthew Craig and Yago Santiago, with the pair looking to catch Conte's eye in their quest to play for the senior side.
Injured trio absent
As was reported on Sky Sports News on Tuesday when the cameras showed Kulusevski and Bissouma in training, there was no sign of Rodrigo Bentancur or Richarlison on the training pitch. The duo have not featured since returning from the World Cup with injuries after playing for Uruguay and Brazil respectively.
Tottenham need both players back as soon as possible, especially with some huge games coming up over the next few weeks with Arsenal and Man City on the agenda. As well as Bentancur and Richarlison, there didn't appear to be any sign of Lucas Moura once again.
The Brazilian has barely featured over the course of the campaign due to a heel injury and Conte recently told football.london that "it's like you don't have him" as he has missed so much football. Now in the second part of the season and with European places on the line, Conte needs all his attacking options back sooner rather than later as it could prove vital come May.
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