Antonio Conte confirms a defensive blow & provides update on Ndombele’s Spurs future

Tottenham Hotspur boss Antonio Conte has, on Friday afternoon, provided an update on the wellbeing of his squad, ahead of this weekend’s fast-approaching North London Derby.

Gunners showdown

One of two marquee fixtures in the Premier League this weekend is of course set to play out on Sunday evening.

After Manchester City and Chelsea go head to head on Saturday afternoon, the aforementioned Tottenham will play host to Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal, in the latest edition of the North London Derby.

Obvious rivalries aside, the clash marks a crucial one when it comes to the top-4 race in the English top-flight, with Spurs aware that a victory would see them climb clear of Arsenal into 5th, whilst boasting a hefty pair of games in hand.

Such a result, though, would require a bounce-back display on the part of Antonio Conte’s troops, with the Lilywhites fresh off the back of seeing their silverware hopes for the campaign dealt a hefty blow, owing to a Carabao Cup semi-final exit at the hands of Chelsea.

Dier ruled out/Ndombele latest

As such, it goes without saying that Conte will be hopeful of having as many of his key performers as possible fit and available to feature from the off on Sunday.

One such player set to miss out, however, comes in the form of Eric Dier.

Speaking in a pre-match press conference this afternoon, Spurs’ boss confirmed that English international Dier, amid a stellar stretch of individual form, has been ruled out of the derby as a result of a muscular issue.

In addition, a fresh case of Covid-19 has been confirmed in the Lilywhites’ camp:

On Conte Zoom. Says Eric Dier is ruled out of the north London derby against Arsenal with a muscular problem. Club are also checking one new case of Covid-19, player not named.

— James Olley (@JamesOlley) January 14, 2022

Also noteworthy when it comes to Conte’s press conference on Friday was an update on the future of Tanguy Ndombele.

French international Ndombele has of course seen his name cast back into the spotlight over the course of the last week, after infuriating the Tottenham faithful with his exploits during the club’s FA Cup win over Morecambe.

In turn, amid widespread suggestions that the midfield enigma could yet be on the move this month, his manager was drawn on the situation earlier today.

Conte, though, was keen to reiterate that, as things stand, Ndombele remains ‘a Tottenham player’:

‘In this moment, Tanguy is a Tottenham player. For this reason you have to consider him a Tottenham player.’

🗣 “In this moment, Tanguy Ndombele is a Tottenham player.”

Antonio Conte on whether Tanguy Ndombele will leave the club in this transfer window pic.twitter.com/DconKsizXR

— Football Daily (@footballdaily) January 14, 2022

Why Tottenham players fear Antonio Conte could quit job

Arsenal boost as insight provided into Granit Xhaka’s ban

---