Antonio Conte was greeted by another grievous setback on his return to duty at Tottenham as midfielder Yves Bissouma suffered a stress fracture to his left ankle.
Spurs were already without captain Hugo Lloris for Saturday's trip to Leicester after their goalkeeper was laid off for up to eight weeks with knee ligament damage. In a fresh blow, Bissouma will have surgery on Friday and faces a prolonged spell on the sidelines.
It was hardly the welcome back to the shop floor head coach Conte would have picked following his gallbladder operation last week, which forced the Italian to miss the 1-0 win against Manchester City while he convalesced at home.
