Antonio Conte has said Dejan Kulusevski needs “a bit of time” to return to fitness after suffering a setback in his recovery from a hamstring injury last week.
Kulusevski has not played since tweaking his hamstring on international duty last month but Conte hopes to have the Swede available before the World Cup.
“His recovery was going well and then one day the situation worsened,” Conte said ahead of Sunday's game against Newcastle. “When this type of situation happens, you have to restart. You need time.
“We have the medical department to face injuries and they have to solve the situation in a short period because if they do, it means points in the table."
Richarlison is also sidelined after pulling his calf in the win over Everton last weekend, while Lucas Moura continues to work his way to full fitness after a long-term tendon injury.
Conte says the best solution given the available players is to stick with the 3-5-2 system he used in Wednesday's dismal 2-0 defeat to Manchester United.
“At this moment, the best situation with the players available is to play with the three midfielders. Then we’ll see the improvement of Lucas. When Lucas is available we can play with him and two others strikers,” Conte said.
“For sure, when you have Kulusevski injured and Richarlison injured, and Lucas Moura recovering from a long tendon injury - he's improving but not ready to start a game - this type of situation creates a big, big difficulty.
“Fingers crossed because at the moment we have Harry and Sonny in good health. I hope they stay that way or I’ll have to put my shoes on to play!”
Spurs are in the midst of a run of 13 games in 43 days between the international break and the World Cup, and Conte admitted his players are feeling the strain.
“We’re going to play seven [more] games in a short period and Newcastle is not involved in European games and it means a lot,” he said. “Now you start to feel the fatigue, to have injuries. Now the difficulties for the teams playing in Europe is really, really difficult."
Emerson Royal is available again after a three-game suspension, and Conte hinted that he could replace Matt Doherty at right wing-back against the Toon.
