Tottenham midfielder Yves Bissouma is facing a spell on the sidelines after the Premier League side confirmed he requires surgery on his ankle.
Bissouma has played in 25 of Tottenham’s 31 matches since joining in a reported £25million deal from Brighton and Hove Albion ahead of this season, starting 10 of those.
The Mali international, who is behind Rodrigo Bentancur and Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg in the central-midfield pecking order, has now been ruled out indefinitely.
A statement on Tottenham’s website on Thursday read: “We can confirm that Yves Bissouma is to undergo surgery on Friday to repair a stress fracture to his left ankle.
“A timeframe for the midfielder’s return to training will be determined after surgery. He will begin rehabilitation with our medical staff as soon as possible.”
Confirmation of Bissouma’s lay-off comes on the same day that goalkeeper and captain Hugo Lloris was ruled out for between six to eight weeks with a knee injury.
In better news for Tottenham, head coach Antonio Conte returned to work on Thursday, just over a week after undergoing surgery last week to remove his gallbladder.
Tottenham beat Manchester City in Conte’s absence last weekend to move within a point of fourth-place Newcastle United, who have a game in hand.
Spurs travel to Leicester City for their next Premier League outing on Saturday, before heading to Milan for the first leg of their Champions League last-16 tie on Tuesday.
