Cristian Stellini says Tottenham star Richarlison is fully fit again now

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Tottenham Hotspur assistant boss Cristian Stellini has claimed that Richarlison is back to full fitness now.

Richarlison was handed his first start in the Premier League for Spurs against West Ham United yesterday since returning from the World Cup.

The 25-year-old didn’t enjoy his best game before being replaced by Heung-Min Son in the 70th minute, who scored Tottenham’s second of the afternoon.

The Brazilian forward has been unfortunate with injuries since making the switch to north London from Goodison Park over the summer.

He managed to break into Antonio Conte’s squad earlier in the campaign, but picked up a calf injury just a month before the World Cup.

Richarlison was a standout performer for Tite’s side in Qatar, but he returned to north London with a hamstring injury. Now, Stellini claims that he is back to full fitness after a difficult start to his Tottenham career.

Stellini says Richarlison is fully fit

Speaking to BBC Sport after Spurs picked up a 2-0 win over West Ham yesterday, Stellini explained the decision to drop Son for Richarlison. 

“This type of player [Son] they are disappointed when they don’t play, but we also have to manage their body because they are not troubled,” the Tottenham assistant boss said.

“Sonny played a lot of games this season and sometimes you have to manage the fatigue and when you have some problems, you can not perform at 100 percent.

“Now, we are happy because Richarlison is back, 100 percent. In the first-half we want to use the player who can perform 100 percent.”

Richarlison failed to take his opportunity yesterday, but he did look a bit brighter at the beginning of the second-half.

The former Toffees forward has found it difficult to nail down a place in Tottenham’s side and he’s yet to score a Premier League goal for the club.

That being said, he would benefit from an extended run in the side as he has mainly been limited to cameo appearances off the bench.

But it’s difficult to see Son missing out against Chelsea this weekend, especially after his performance yesterday.