Tottenham look set to be without key defensive duo Cristian Romero and Eric Dier for their Premier League trip to Leicester on Thursday.
Romero hasn’t played since suffering a hamstring injury whilst away on international duty with Argentina back in November and has missed the last 12 games in all competitions.
Meanwhile Dier, who missed both Carabao Cup games with Chelsea and FA Cup meeting against Morecambe, could see his run of Premier League starts his season end having not yet recovered from a muscle problem.
Conte said that Tottenham must remain patient regarding Dier, but didn’t reveal exactly when he could return to action.
Meanwhile, the Italian did provide some good news on Romero; confirming that the centre-back will be back available after the international break at the end of the month. Therefore, he’ll miss the trips to Leicester and Chelsea on Sunday, but should be back for the FA Cup game against Brighton two weeks on Saturday.
Conte said:” Cristian is improving and he’s working with us. For sure we have to try to respect the right time for his recovery. He had a serious injury. Now he’s very close to coming back with us & being available for games. For sure, after the international break he’ll be available.
“For Eric [Dier], we have to wait a bit, and also have a bit of patience, and not take a risk.”
In more positive news, Conte revealed that Steven Bergwijn is fit and was in the squad for the postponed north London derby.
