'I don't know': Conte says Tottenham's 'magnificent' player unlikely to play v Manchester United

By Lee Connor

Antonio Conte has given an update on Dejan Kulusevski ahead of Tottenham v Manchester United this week.

The Swedish winger has been missing over the last couple of games after picking up an injury. Kulusevski had been in good form prior to being crocked and is now working his way back to fitness. Spurs won at the weekend against Everton to keep their title hopes alive, with Man City losing at Liverpool.

However, in what is bad news for Conte and Spurs fans, the Italian coach confirmed that Old Trafford is likely to come too soon for the Swede.

“Kulusevski is working. We are going day by day with him. I don’t know about the game against Manchester United, the doctors are working with him,” Conte told Football.London today.

“It’s the same injury [hamstring]. The medical department are working to recover him but at the same time there are situations that you have to go a bit slowly and not accelerate the process. Sometimes if you do that you worsen the situation. We hope to have him in the squad very soon. Deki is an important player for us and Richy is an important player for us”

Dubbed a ‘magnificent‘ player by Tim Sherwood, Kulusevski being out injured isn’t ideal for Conte, who is seeing his attacking options stretched.

TBR’s View: Kulusevski Needs To Return For Tottenham

Spurs are plodding along nicely and staying well in the mix but they need their best players available in the final third and Kulusevski is one of those players.

Conte is right in that players need easing back into things so there is no point in rushing Kulusevki’s return as it stands right now.

However, there is no doubt that the Swedish star would be able to impact the game at Old Trafford if he was fit.