Jose Mourinho has confirmed that Giovani Lo Celso remains sidelined for Tottenham Hotspur.
Spurs have a huge clash with Manchester City at the Etihad Stadium tomorrow night.
But the Argentina international won’t be back in time – in fact, Mourinho told Football London that he’s ‘not even close’ to being ready for a return to action just yet.
Injury has sidelined the former Real Betis playmaker since the 2-0 defeat by Leicester City just before Christmas.
Since then, the Lilywhites have won only three Premier League games and although Lo Celso wasn’t a massive player for Mourinho when he was fit, there are games where his creativity is missing in a big way.
Mourinho told a press conference that the South American is still miles away from being back: “No new injuries from Wednesday. No [If Lo Celso was back]. Not even close.”
The upside of Lo Celso being out is that it has allowed Tanguy Ndombele to get fitter.
When Lo Celso was fit, the Portuguese coach would often bring the Frenchman off for him in the final 25 minutes of a lot of games.
But with the midfielder being unavailable, Mourinho hasn’t had anybody to turn to in that regard – with the exception of Harry Winks – and it must be said that Ndombele is and has gotten fitter.
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