Antonio Conte has revealed that Dejan Kulusevski was a touch-and-go to be fit against Liverpool and that the Swede told him just ahead of the game that he could play 30 minutes.
Tottenham have had to deal with injuries to several key players over recent weeks, with the likes of Cristian Romero, Richarlison and Son Heung-min currently on the treatment table.
Kulusevski and Lucas Moura were only fit enough to make the bench on Sunday, which meant that Conte had to start Ivan Perisic alongside Harry Kane upfront.
The Swede showed when he came on in the 68th minute just what Spurs have been missing over recent weeks as he provided a cutting-edge to their attack, with his ability to take people on and deliver crosses into the box.
The 22-year-old set up Harry Kane’s goal just over a minute after his introduction but the Lilywhites could not find an equaliser despite laying siege to the Liverpool goal in the final 20 minutes.
When asked about Kulusevski returning to action, Conte told club’s official website after the game: “It was good to see Deki back, yes, finally. It was important, good news. Deki only had a full training session with us yesterday.
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“Today, he said to me, ‘okay, coach, for the last 20, 30 minutes, I’m available’. At the end, my first question (to him) was, ‘is everything okay?’ and he told me, ‘yes’.”
Spurs Web Opinion
There is no doubt in my mind that we would have got something from the game against Liverpool had one of Moura, Richarlison, Son or Kulusevski been fit enough to start. We looked a little toothless in attack in the first-half without a player who can run in-behind the Reds backline.
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