Giovani Lo Celso Tottenham Hotspur Spurs
Giovani Lo Celso (Tottenham Hotspur, 18)

Spurs head to St James’ Park to take on Newcastle United on Sunday and the Lilywhites could miss as many as nine first-team players.

Several key players played for their national sides on Friday so it will be virtually impossible for them to return to England within the next 24 hours and then feature in the starting line up against the Magpies.

The Spurs boss has confirmed that Giovani Lo Celso, Cristian Romero, Emerson Royal and Davinson Sanchez were all part of their respective national squads and are not likely to feature in the matchday squad on Sunday.

Nuno told the press: “They are flying now. They are joining us tomorrow, and that will be the right moment to see how they are. The news we have is that they all finished the matches well, so it’s about recovering and then, together, we have to assess them and then decide.”

Ryan Sessegnon picked up an injury in September and he’s still on the sidelines and is ruled out for the Premier League game on Sunday.

Ben Davies and Steven Bergwijn had returned to training last week but the Spurs boss has made it clear that they will go through late fitness tests in order to determine their availability.

 

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And finally, if these injuries were not enough then two first-team players have tested positive for COVID so they will have to go through the mandatory 10 days of isolation.

While the club have not yet revealed the names of these two players but reports suggest that Son and winger Bryan Gil are the ones who have contracted COVID.

This selection woe comes at the worst possible time for the Tottenham manager since Spurs were just about picking up pace in the Premier League.

With so many players set to miss out, Nuno will have no other option but to name some fringe players in the starting line up on Sunday. And this could be the opportunity that Newcastle United need to pick up their first win of the 2021/22 season.

Read: Which two Tottenham players have tested positive before the Newcastle United game?

Read: 4-2-3-1 Spurs’ predicted line up vs Newcastle United.