Antonio Conte has stated that he hopes to have Oliver Skipp back after this month's international break. Not featuring for Tottenham since their league defeat against Chelsea in January due to a groin issue, the midfielder's return has dragged on much longer than the head coach would have liked.
Skipp's absence has limited the Italian to just having Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg, Rodrigo Bentancur, Harry Winks and Harvey White as his current midfield options at such a crucial time in the season. However, the return of the highly-rated youngster will give everyone a huge boost if he can take to the pitch after the international break.
"About Skippy, I hope to have him after the international break. His pain it seems is getting better and better," said the Spurs boss.
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On whether he could make the Newcastle match: "It’s difficult to answer now. We’ll have two weeks to see this improvement and make him ready for the game against Newcastle.
"I know the player’s frustration because we’re talking also about a really good guy. He's a top guy, a top man. To see him very disappointed and very sad for this situation, but he has to be strong because we believe in him and we are waiting for him."
Conte also has to do without Ryan Sessegnon at the moment after the left wing-back sustained a hamstring issue in the recent win over Everton. The club are still waiting for another scan but the ex-Fulham man will return to training if Spurs are given the green light.
"About Ryan, we’re waiting four weeks to have another scan and then if everything is OK he’ll restart training sessions with us," said Conte.
