Tottenham Hotspur attacker Dejan Kulusevski has reportedly emerged as an injury doubt for Saturday's North London derby with Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium.
The Sweden international has been demoted to the bench in recent weeks to accommodate the inclusion of Richarlison, but he was back in the starting XI for the 6-2 win over Leicester City earlier this month.
Kulusevski then linked up with the Sweden team for their UEFA Nations League fixtures with Serbia and Slovenia, playing 84 minutes against the former and coming up with an assist in that 4-1 loss.
The Juventus loanee then played the full 90 as Janne Andersson's side drew 1-1 with Slovenia on matchday six, as Sweden suffered relegation to League C.
Kulusevski has now returned to Hotspur Way ahead of Saturday lunchtime's Premier League clash with Arsenal, where a win would see Spurs leapfrog their rivals into first place in the table.
However, The Athletic reports that the 22-year-old returned from international duty with an apparent hamstring injury and is now doubtful for the trip to the Emirates.
While Kulusevski has not yet been ruled out of the contest, he is said to be facing a race against time to make himself available as Spurs' medical staff continue to monitor him.
The attacker is believed to have undergone a scan on Wednesday morning to determine the severity of the issue, and Antonio Conte will give an update to the media later on Thursday.
Kulusevski has taken to life in the Premier League with aplomb since arriving on loan in January, scoring six goals and providing 11 assists in 29 outings for Spurs in all competitions.
This season, the Swede has already scored one goal and set up three more in seven Premier League outings, although he has only been used as a substitute in the Champions League so far.
Kulusevski is still on loan at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium from Juventus, but he is expected to complete a permanent move to the Premier League next summer.
Spurs will reportedly trigger a £31m obligation-to-buy clause if Kulusevski features in 20 Premier League games for the club and helps Tottenham to a top-four finish, otherwise Conte's side can still take up an option to make the deal permanent.
As well as Kulusevski, Tottenham are also sweating over the fitness of first-choice goalkeeper Hugo Lloris for the North London derby after the Frenchman pulled out of international duty with a thigh problem.
Fraser Forster is on standby if Lloris is not given the green light to play, and Conte will hope to have Ben Davies and Lucas Moura at his disposal for the trip across the capital.
Harry Kane, Richarlison and Son Heung-min are likely to form Tottenham's attacking line in the absence of Kulusevski, and Tottenham head into Saturday's game third in the table and just one point adrift of the table-topping Gunners. body check tags ::
