Tottenham Hotspur manager Ange Postecoglou has revealed that Giovani Lo Celso will sit out Friday's Premier League clash with Nottingham Forest due to injury.
The Lilywhites make the trip to the City Ground on the back of ending their five-game winless run against Newcastle United at the weekend, marching to a 4-1 win over the Magpies.
In doing so, Postecoglou's fifth-placed side opened up a three-point lead over Manchester United in the table, and they could draw level with Manchester City should they prevail at the City Ground.
Tottenham's dismal run prior to the beating of Newcastle can be partially attributed to their horrendous luck with injuries, as no fewer than eight outfield players watched last weekend's win from the sidelines.
Ashley Phillips (ankle), Eric Dier (groin), Manor Solomon (knee), Ivan Perisic (knee), Ryan Sessegnon (thigh), James Maddison (ankle), Rodrigo Bentancur (ankle) and Micky van de Ven (thigh) are all still missing, as is backup goalkeeper Alfie Whiteman (ankle).
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Before facing the media in Thursday's press conference, Postecoglou revealed that midfielder Lo Celso would not be available for the clash at the City Ground owing to a minor training injury, which the club are still trying to get to the bottom of.
"We've still got quite significant absences, we've got eight on the injured table. Unfortunately Giovani Lo Celso will join them, he'll miss this week, hopefully nothing too bad," Postecoglou told Tottenham's media channels.
"Just a slight injury from training, we're still trying to work it out. Nothing serious in terms of the guys from last week we're one more down but the rest of the guys are OK."
The Argentinian midfielder was widely expected to leave Spurs in the summer following his loan return from Villarreal, but he has started to reignite his Tottenham career under Postecoglou in the past couple of weeks.
Following Maddison's ankle injury, Lo Celso netted on his first Premier League start of the season - a 2-1 loss to Aston Villa on November 26 - before also netting in Spurs' 3-3 draw with Manchester City a week later.
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However, the 27-year-old dropped to the bench against Newcastle last weekend, where Richarlison returned to support Son Heung-min alongside Brennan Johnson and Dejan Kulusevski.
Postecoglou was also asked for an update on Maddison and Van de Ven, who have been sidelined since sustaining serious injuries against Chelsea last month, and the Australian does not expect either man to return for a few weeks yet.
"They're going OK, they're obviously going through their rehab with Bentancur and Solomon and Phillips and all these other guys. They're cracking on with it but still a fair way away," Postecoglou added.
Tottenham head to the City Ground aiming to record a fifth successive Premier League win over Nottingham Forest, who lie 16th in the standings with a five-point lead over Luton Town in the relegation zone.
Ben Knapton
