Tottenham Hotspur manager Antonio Conte has insisted that "no player is undroppable" when questioned on the struggles of Son Heung-min.
The 30-year-old only has one assist to boast from eight appearances in all competitions so far this season but has remained a consistent fixture of the Lilywhites' first XI.
With new signing Richarlison now forcing his way into the starting lineup, Conte has elected to drop Dejan Kulusevski to the bench to accommodate the former Everton man.
Kulusevski has still made a strong impact from the bench for Tottenham in recent weeks, but Conte has been reluctant to drop Son in spite of his goal drought.
Speaking to reporters ahead of Saturday's Premier League contest with Leicester City, Conte was quick to affirm that all of his players - including Son - are not immune to losing their place in the side.
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"There are no players that are undroppable. This has to be very clear. There are no players that are undroppable," football.london quotes Conte as saying.
"Because if I tell this, it's only to try to help my players and to try to avoid injuries, to try to have players at the top of their form and to have a good performance.
"If I am telling this it is only to protect my players and to give them the possibility to be, in every moment, at the top. Then you know very well you can play one game well, another you can score, another not, but my task is to try to protect my players and to protect the team.
"Don't forgot sometimes when you don't start with certain players, it means during the game you have this player with the possibility to use him during the game. But I repeat if we want to play this four competitions and especially I repeat the Champions League because it is different to play Europa League or Conference League.
"In the Champions League they are always massive games and for this reason I need to have all my players available. I need all my players available for rotation to be in every moment ready when I call them to play and to play well for the team, for the club, for the fans, for everybody."
The Tottenham boss was also asked about Eric Dier's recall to the England squad, with the centre-back in line to earn his first minutes for the Three Lions since November 2020 in September's Nations League fixtures with Italy and Germany.
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With the World Cup looming, Conte insisted that he was "really proud" of Dier for making the squad but also warned the 28-year-old that there is still work to be done if he wants to be on the plane to Qatar.
"First of all I'm really pleased because when my players are called up to the national teams, we are really proud. Because it means we are working very well, and we are trying to help the players to go with the national teams," Conte added.
"In this case for Eric it was a really good achievement for him, but what I can only tell him is that this has to be a point of start.
"That he has to gain the possibility to go to the World Cup, especially in this month and a half that we have before the World Cup. To continue to play well, to have a good performance, to show he has really good stability, that he is a really reliable player.
"And what I can tell him is only this - continue on this way, to continue to work hard and have this concentration. For the rest I think my staff and I and team-mates are very happy for this call up to the national team."
Tottenham are aiming to bounce back from Tuesday's 2-0 defeat to Sporting Lisbon in the Champions League and could temporarily go top of the Premier League table if they win and Manchester City fail to beat Wolverhampton Wanderers on Saturday.
Ben Knapton
