Conte confirms £92k-a-week Tottenham star won't be playing against Wolves

Tottenham Hotspur boss Antonio Conte has confirmed that Eric Dier won’t feature against Wolves on Sunday.

The Spurs defender has missed the matches against Brighton and Southampton with a thigh problem.

Speaking ahead of Sunday’s Premier League fixture, Conte said Dier will miss his third game in a row.

However, the Tottenham boss remains hopeful the 28-year-old will be back against Manchester City.

Spurs will face the reigning Premier League champions a week on Saturday.

“Unfortunately [Dier] is not fit,” the Evening Standard quotes Conte as saying.

“For sure, he’s a big loss for us. He needs a bit more time to recover.

“I hope to have him available for the next game, away at Manchester City. But for this game he’s not available.”

Dier has been crucial to Tottenham in recent years, anchoring the backline to the best of his abilities.

This season, the £92,000-a-week ace has been particularly consistent and has often made the difference for Spurs.

Tottenham are certainly feeling Dier’s absence now he’s on the sidelines.

Spurs could opt to stick with a back three of Cristian Romero, Davinson Sanchez, and Ben Davies against Wolves.

But while this worked well against Brighton, it struggled against a high-pressing Southampton in midweek.

Alternatively, Conte could bring Joe Rodon in, or perhaps move Emerson Royal to RCB and name a different player at RWB.

With the race for the top four heating up, Spurs really can’t afford to drop many more points.

Both West Ham and Arsenal took advantage of the clubs around them dropping points this week.

The Hammers are now fourth in the table on 40 points, while Arsenal are fifth on 39 and boasting two games in hand.

Tottenham are seventh on 36 points, but they have three games in hand on West Ham.

‘Big loss’: Conte confirms £92,000-a-week Tottenham star won’t be playing against Wolves