Tottenham Hotspur manager Ange Postecoglou has revealed that his injury-ravaged side have suffered two new concerns ahead of Sunday's Premier League showdown with Aston Villa.
On account of their back-to-back defeats to Chelsea and Wolverhampton Wanderers before the international break, Tottenham have slipped to fourth in the table with nearly a third of the season played.
The Lilywhites have just a two-point gap to make up to leaders Manchester City before the champions face Liverpool, who are only one point better off than Postecoglou's men, as are Arsenal.
However, Unai Emery's high-flying Villa team are only one place and one point behind Spurs, who would therefore drop out of the Champions League places should they be condemned to a third successive defeat this weekend.
The Lilywhites' recent absentee crisis has played its part in their recent pair of defeats, as Micky van de Ven and James Maddison left the field against Chelsea with hamstring and ankle issues respectively, and neither man will return before the New Year.
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Cristian Romero received a straight red card in that 4-1 loss to the Blues and will therefore serve the second of a three-game ban on Sunday, and Yves Bissouma is also suspended for gameweek 13, having been booked for the fifth time this season in his side's 2-1 defeat to Wolves a fortnight ago.
Richarlison added to Tottenham's woes when he underwent surgery on a pelvic problem that had plagued him since the start of the season, joining Manor Solomon, Ivan Perisic, Ryan Sessegnon and Alfie Whiteman on the list of players recovering from operations.
Before facing the media on Friday, Postecoglou delivered a team news update to Tottenham's social media channels, in which he revealed that teenage defender Ashley Phillips and midfielder Pape Sarr had also returned from the international break with issues.
Phillips completed 45 minutes of England Under-19s 7-1 friendly win over Mexico on Tuesday, but he will now be out for a "while" with an ankle issue, and Senegal international Sarr - who scored in a 4-0 World Cup qualifying win over South Sudan before playing 74 minutes of a goalless draw with Togo - is a doubt with an unspecified injury.
When asked if his players had come through the international period unscathed, Postecoglou said: "No, we've got a couple of issues. Young Ash Phillips picked up an ankle injury so he'll be out for a little while, which is disappointing for him.
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"We're just having a look at Pape Sarr because he's got a bit of an issue as well, we'll see how he is in the next 24 to 48 hours. Everyone else has come back OK."
Postecoglou later clarified in his press conference that Phillips would likely be sidelined for approximately one month with his ankle problem, while Sarr was unable to train on Friday morning.
However, the Australian confirmed that Destiny Udogie is back in contention after recovering from a muscular issue, which had prevented the left-back from linking up with the Italy squad.
"Destiny's fine and he's available. Obviously we lose Biss [Yves Bissouma] for this game but we'll get Destiny back and he's had a good couple of weeks," Postecoglou added.
With Bissouma suspended and Sarr doubtful for the visit of Villa, Rodrigo Bentancur is expected to start a Premier League game for the first time since suffering his ACL rupture in February's loss to Leicester City.
Ben Knapton
