Tottenham Hotspur boss Antonio Conte has conceded that Eric Dier will not be fit for Sunday's Premier League showdown with Wolverhampton Wanderers.
The centre-back has been dealing with a thigh injury in recent weeks and was nowhere to be seen in the midweek defeat to Southampton.
Dier was thought to have had a decent chance of shaking off the issue in time for the visit of Wolves, but Conte has now confirmed that the Englishman will not make the cut for Sunday.
"Unfortunately he's not fit. For sure he's a big loss for us. He needs a bit more time to recover. I don't know, I hope he will be available for the next game against Man City," Conte told reporters at his pre-game press conference.
Conte has also been dealing with the absences of Oliver Skipp and Japhet Tanganga in recent weeks, with the duo also expected to miss out through groin and knee injuries respectively.
With Dier unavailable to Spurs, Davinson Sanchez, Cristian Romero and Ben Davies are once again set to form the defensive trio in front of Hugo Lloris.
Ben Knapton
