Tottenham Hotspur manager Ange Postecoglou has played down the reports surrounding the fitness of one of his midfielders.
We are back to Premier League business on Saturday with a home clash against Brighton & Hove Albion with three points taking us – provisionally – into the top four.
There have been some question marks regarding the fitness of Mali midfielder Yves Bissouma following reports he had contracted malaria whilst playing in the Africa Cup of Nations.
Yves Bissouma available to play Brighton
Having returned to Hotspur Way earlier this week, the 27-year-old has underwent tests to clarify the extent of the claims coming from his international coach.
And Postecoglou has been able to front the media on Friday with some positive news about the former Brighton midfielder: “No, that’s not right. He had a slight form of malaria before the tournament, but it cleared up by the start of tournament. He’s 100% now,” he said.
Will Yves Bissouma start vs Brighton?
Tottenham have been without Bissouma since the middle of December after he was shown a straight red card in the game against Nottingham Forest.
Having served his three game suspension, Bissouma then traveled to Africa for the international tournament where he would only play limited minutes.
He was only able to register a full 90 minutes in one of Mali’s games as they were eventually eliminated at the quarter final stage.
So returning straight back into the starting XI is perhaps too much of an ask for a player who hasn’t really played in the Premier League for nearly two months.
Pape Matar Sarr is also back and, having featured against Everton, it may be time for the Senegalese star to make his return to Postecoglou’s XI.
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