LONDON, Aug 12 — Tottenham Hotspur defender Clement Lenglet will miss Sunday’s Premier League clash with Chelsea due to a muscle issue while midfielder Oliver Skipp will also be out for two weeks after fracturing his foot, manager Antonio Conte said today.
The 27-year-old Lenglet, who joined Spurs on a season-long loan from Spanish La Liga outfit Barcelona in the close season, featured in the 4-1 victory over Southampton last weekend but Conte said he was unwilling to risk the Frenchman.
“I don’t think he’s available for the game against Chelsea. He had a little problem,” Conte told reporters. “Skipp, I think (will be out for) a couple of weeks.
“With Lenglet, it’s a problem of fatigue. He’s a bit tired in his abductor, the muscle. Nothing serious, only precaution. But it isn’t good to take a stupid risk. He’s had a training session apart, but I think that will be good for him.”
Conte, who guided Spurs to fourth place last season for an automatic Champions League spot, said he was happy with how they had bolstered their squad following the arrivals of Richarlison, Yves Bissouma, Djed Spence, Ivan Perisic and Fraser Forster.
“We improved... but I know I can’t have everything quickly. It would be foolish to ask for a lot of players and spend a lot of money,” Conte said.
“We’re doing the right things with common sense, not to spend the money on many players. This is not the politics of the club, I understand this.”
The Italian also addressed their over-reliance on forwards Harry Kane and Son Heung-min, who combined for 40 league goals last season.
“These are two important players, but at the same time we need to find different solutions,” Conte said.
“The way we attack gives us different solutions. A team with ambition needs many solutions to score. At the same time we have to be solid defensively.” — Reuters
