Antonio Conte has confirmed that Eric Dier will once again miss out for Tottenham when they return to action against Wolves on Sunday afternoon.
Last featuring for Spurs against Chelsea prior to last month's international break, the player has been absent since football returned at the start of February due to a thigh issue.
Dier was in fact wearing plenty of strapping on his right thigh during the team's defeat at Chelsea and has yet to return to the pitch for Tottenham.
Having watched on from the sidelines in the past two games, Conte has revealed that the centre-back will not feature against Wolves and it could be next Saturday's game at Man City when he does make his comeback.
"No, unfortunately he's not fit," admitted Conte. "For sure, he's a big loss for us. He needs a bit more time to recover.
"I don't know if... I hope to have him available for the next game, away against Manchester City, but for this game for sure he’s not available."
Cristian Romero and Son Heung-min have started in both games against Brighton & Hove Albion and Southampton since their return from injury and are in line to start again on Sunday.
Electing against giving them a breather in midweek against Saints, Conte has outlined the importance of the duo to his team.
"Yeah, but we need them. Yeah I know very well that to play three games in seven or eight days could be, not a risk, but yes taking a bit of risk," he said.
"But we need them, they’re important players for us. Especially behind, at the back, Dier in this moment is out so Romero has to play.
"And also Sonny, we need up front to have him because he's also an important player. I think I’m not telling you anything stupid, about the importance of these players for us. Yeah, they're going to play."
