Tottenham’s assistant manager Cristian Stellini says he trusts Fraser Forster to deputise for the injured Hugo Lloris but admits the former England international is a different type of goalkeeper to the Spurs captain.
Forster, 34, is set to start at Leicester on Saturday as he begins an extended period in the first team due to Lloris’s knee injury. Lloris suffered ligament damage in last weekend’s 1-0 win over Manchester City and Stellini confirmed yesterday that the Frenchman will be out for “between five and seven weeks”.
Spurs are also set to be without Yves Bissouma long-term, with the midfielder set to undergo surgery to a stress fracture on his left ankle today. The club said the timeframe for Bissouma's recovery would be determined after the operation.
Forster has Champions League experience at Celtic and spent eight seasons at Southampton, largely as the club's No1.
Stellini told Standard Sport: “We trust in him and he knows that, because it’s not the first game he’s going to play. With your behaviour, with your relationship you create with him you can transfer to him that you trust in him. This is what we do during all the season.
“He’s an important player because he was also in the national team, so we don’t have to transfer to him too much confidence because he has confidence. He has great experience and it’s only the relationship you create with him that lets him understand that you trust in him. Also, he trains very well every day. He even pushes Hugo to train well.”
Forster earned six England caps between 2013 and 2016 and was recalled to the national team setup by Gareth Southgate in March 2022. However, he has only featured four times in all competitions for Spurs so far this season. Just one of those matches came in the Premier League and none were Champions League fixtures. Spurs return to European action on Tuesday when they face AC Milan at the San Siro.
First-choice goalkeeper Lloris has come in for plenty of stick this season due to a number of high-profile blunders for Tottenham. Stellini is confident Forster can deputise effectively but says he does not want to compare the pair.
Antonio Conte’s assistant admitted: “I don’t think there is some aspect that he is better than Hugo Lloris in, because Hugo Lloris is a world champion. He’s just different. Every player has particular skills. Fraser has particular skills different from Hugo Lloris. Maybe he uses his physicality differently. But they are both great players and I don’t want to create difference between them.”
He insisted the bond between Forster and Lloris is strong, saying: “I know they discuss a lot about goalkeepers. They discuss a lot when they watch other goalkeepers and they enjoy those moments. They work with [goalkeeper coach] Marco Savorani and they have meetings with Marco. I follow the meetings with Marco and they discuss situations from our games and other games. They discuss football — this is a great skill that our players need to have."
While Stellini deputised at the pre-match press conference, Conte returned to work on Thursday morning after just a week's rehabilitation following surgery to remove his gallbladder in Italy.
The head coach is expected to be back on the touchline at the King Power Stadium, where Spurs won 3-2 thanks to Steven Bergwijn dramatic injury-time double last season.
