Tottenham Hotspur head coach Ange Postecoglou has confirmed that Brennan Johnson is showing no signs of a concussion after coming off in Friday's 2-0 win over Nottingham Forest.
The Welsh attacker was named in the starting lineup for the reunion with his former employers, but his evening was cut short with just 32 minutes on the board with a bang to the head.
Johnson was left bloodied in the penalty area before he was taken off for Oliver Skipp in a concussion substitution, raising fears that the erstwhile Tricky Trees man could be set for a spell out of action.
However, speaking to the media in his post-game press conference, Postecoglou confirmed that Johnson had not sustained anything worse than a nasty cut and had passed all the necessary concussion tests.
"He should be ok. He's just got a nasty cut to his head. Nothing that should keep him out. No concussion, just a cut on his head," football.london quotes Postecoglou as saying.
Despite losing yet another attacker to injury, as Johnson joined James Maddison, Ivan Perisic, Ryan Sessegnon and Manor Solomon on the sidelines, Tottenham cruised to their second successive Premier League win at the City Ground thanks to a man-of-the-match display from Dejan Kulusevski.
The Sweden international sent in a sumptuous cross for Richarlison to nod home in the dying embers of the first half, before capitalising on a Matt Turner error to fire home the Lilywhites' second following the half-time interval.
However, Friday's triumph ended on another slightly sour note for Postecoglou, who lost Yves Bissouma to a straight red card for a high tackle on Ryan Yates, which was initially missed by referee Jarred Gillett before a review led to the midfielder being dismissed.
The former Brighton & Hove Albion man had already been given his marching orders once this season, taking the walk of shame for two bookable offences against Luton Town in October, and his second red card of the season means that he has incurred a four-match ban.
As a result, Bissouma will sit out the entire festive period, ruling him out of fixtures with old employers Brighton, Everton and Bournemouth, as well as January's FA Cup tie with Burnley.
In addition, left-back Destiny Udogie will also miss the clash with Everton next Saturday on account of collecting his fifth yellow card of the season, having seen his initial booking against Chelsea wiped after he was sent off in that clash.
As ever, Postecoglou refused to criticise the decision to dismiss Bissouma, but he did not believe that the 27-year-old showed any malice in the challenge, adding: "I think they slowed it down and they saw what they saw and we have to cop it.
"It's an issue but it's not so much discipline. Tonight - like I say I haven't seen a slowed down version - but it's just a desperate lunge more than anything malicious.
"The guys are having to adapt to learn to play our football without crossing a line but I loved the commitment they showed. Unfortunately we paid a price because it's not just this game, he obviously misses a big chunk of football but it is what it is."
Tottenham remain fifth in the table despite making it back-to-back wins on Friday evening, but they have now drawn level on points with Manchester City ahead of the champions' clash with Crystal Palace on Saturday. body check tags ::
