Antonio Conte is worried Dejan Kulusevski may not feature for Tottenham before the World Cup after the winger suffered a setback in his recovery from a hamstring injury.
Kulusevski has not featured for Spurs since last month's 6-2 thrashing of Leicester City, having sustained the injury while on international duty with Sweden – who failed to qualify for the tournament in Qatar.
While the form of Richarlison initially allowed Spurs to cope with Kulusevski's absence, the Brazil attacker limped out of a 2-0 win over his former club Everton last week, leaving Conte short on forward options.
Speaking ahead of Sunday's clash with Newcastle United, Conte said of Kulusevski: "I think we have to wait a bit of time to see him with us, it is the same for Richarlison.
"For sure, this type of situation creates a big, big difficulty. It's normal. For me, also fingers crossed because at the moment we have Harry [Kane] and Sonny [Son Heung-min] in good health.
"I hope they continue to stay that way, or I'll have to think about putting my shoes on to play, me!
"When you go to play Champions League, especially if you play in the Premier League, you have to know that you're going to have a difficult season for injuries, for massive games, for players who become tired."
Asked whether he is concerned Kulusevski may not recover before the Premier League breaks for the World Cup next month, Conte said: "Yes, because his recovery was going well and then one day the situation worsened.
"Then when this type of situation happens, you have to restart. You need time, but we have the medical department to face injury situations, and they have to solve the situation in a short period. If you are able to solve the situation in a short period, it means points in the table."
Tottenham have lost two of their last four Premier League games (W2), suffering as many defeats in that spell as they did in their previous 21 matches in the competition.
Wednesday's 2-0 reverse at Manchester United represented the first time Spurs have failed to score in a Premier League game this season, and led Conte to declare the two sides were operating on "different levels".
Asked whether Tottenham needed to sign another creative presence in the January transfer window, Conte said the club would assess their options during the World Cup break.
"Now, we have to try to finish this period, which for us is really tough," the Italian added. "You have important injuries and you have to face the situation in the best possible way.
"Then we'll see. We have to arrive until the last game in November and then with the club we'll see the situation, if we have to do something or we continue in the same way."
Brazil legend Marta to retire from international football
Brazil star Marta has announced she will retire from international football at the end of 2024.
The 38-year-old is the all-time highest scorer for Brazil, netting 116 goals in 175 matches for the national team.
She is also the top-scorer in the Women’s World Cup with 17 goals, finishing as a runner-up in 2007 when Brazil lost in the final to Germany.
The forward has won three Copa America Femenina titles and was part of the Brazil team that won silver medals at the 2004 and 2008 Olympics.
Marta could make her sixth appearance for Brazil at this year's Games if she is selected in the squad at the Paris 2024 Olympics.
"If I go to the Olympics, I will enjoy every moment, because, regardless of whether I go to the Olympics or not, this is my last year with the national team," Marta told CNN in an interview on Thursday.
"There will be no more Marta from 2025 in the national team as an athlete.
"I am very calm about this because I see with great optimism this development that we are having in relation to young athletes."
Al Hilal 3-1 Al Fateh: Neves on target as Saudi giants close in on title
Al Hilal moved 12 points clear of Cristiano Ronaldo's Al Nassr at the top of the Saudi Pro League as Ruben Neves scored in a 3-1 win over Al Fateh on Friday.
Former Wolves star Neves slotted in from the penalty spot in the 74th minute, as Al Hilal completed a rapid comeback.
Having fallen behind to Lucas Zelarayan's 57th-minute opener, Al Hilal responded swiftly through Micheal before Salem Al Najdi fouled Mohammed Al Qahtani in the penalty area.
Ex-Barcelona winger Cristian Trello and Al Fateh coach Slaven Bilic were booked for their complaints, with Neves making no mistake, paving the way for Ali Al Bulayhi to seal victory in the 15th minute of an extended period of stoppage time.
Data Debrief
Al Hilal have now won 21 games on the spin in the league. They have scored 86 goals across their 28 matches this season, winning 26 in total.
They had 19 shots on Friday, accumulating 2.34 xG to Al Fateh's 0.25, with pass-master Neves creating three chances to go along with his goal.
RFEF elects Rocha as new president
The Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) has confirmed Pedro Rocha as its new president.
Rocha has been elected as Luis Rubiales' replacement, despite being under investigation for corruption.
He had been serving as interim president since Rubiales resigned in September over the scandal caused when he kissed player Jenni Hermoso following Spain's Women's World Cup triumph in August.
In a statement released on Friday, the RFEF said: "Pedro Rocha has today been proclaimed the new president of the Royal Spanish Football Federation (RFEF), after having received the support of the majority of the assembly members of this institution that governs Spanish football.
"The process followed the procedure agreed by the Electoral Commission, which met this morning, and the timetable that was established for these elections."
Rocha has been under investigation since earlier in April, after the RFEF's headquarters was raided by police last month. The Spanish government announced on Thursday that it would be stepping in to oversee the running of the organisation.
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