Richarlison’s injury is not overly serious and the Tottenham forward is not at risk of missing the World Cup, manager Antonio Conte has confirmed.
The Brazilian limped out of Saturday’s 2-0 Premier League win over former club Everton in tears after suffering a calf problem and later expressed fears that his dreams of playing in the inaugural winter tournament in Qatar next month could be in serious jeopardy.
Richarlison will miss Wednesday night’s meeting with Manchester United at Old Trafford and Conte was unable to offer a date for his return but suggested the striker could even feature again before the World Cup.
“You know the injury about Richarlison, he’s doing a scan, an MRI, and then we will see how much time he needs to recover but for sure against United he is not available,” Conte said.
“No, absolutely not,” the Spurs boss added, when asked whether he feared the former Everton man could miss the World Cup. “I can confirm this, that the player is not at risk to not play the World Cup.
“His injury is an injury but it is not so serious. He has a problem in his calf but I think he needs a bit of time to recover and then to be fit.”
“I hope [he will be fit] to play other games for us before the World Cup, but for sure, the injury is not so serious and I’m happy for the player because to play the World Cup is the dream for every single player. For this reason I am happy for him.”
