Tottenham are expected to be without striker Richarlison for up to six weeks following the hamstring injury he sustained at the World Cup.
The former Watford and Everton frontman had an excellent tournament in Qatar, scoring three times as Brazil suffered a shock early elimination at the hands of Croatia.
Spurs boss Antonio was no doubt looking forward to trying to find a way of incorporating the Brazilian with Harry Kane, Son Heung-min and Dejan Kulusevski in a devastating front four, but those ambitions have been put on hold after Richarlison’s injury.
It was initially hoped the 25-year-old would be out for no more than a month as he recovers from the injury he picked up in the quarter-final loss to Croatia.
However, the Daily Mail revealed that a fresh scan means the £60million summer signing could be out for six weeks.
That length of absence rules him out of Tottenham’s huge north London derby with Arsenal on January 15. Richarlison will also miss the rearranged trip to Manchester City four days later.
His next outing for Spurs is likely to be the return trip to The Etihad at the start of February.
Richarlison was not expected to be back at Tottenham training until Monday, alongside Harry Kane and Eric Dier.
The former Toffees striker had a memorable tournament in Qatar. Indeed, his performances actually led to talk of him potentially being sold by Spurs.
He scored twice in the group-stage win over Serbia. Richarlison then netted one of the goals of the tournament in the last-16 triumph over South Korea.
He played 84 minutes of the quarter-final contest with Croatia despite feeling his hamstring in the warm-up.
Richarlison loss leaves Conte hamstrung
Tottenham are back in action on Boxing Day at Brentford. However, they do have a warm-up clash with Nice in north London on Wednesday.
Richarlison’s absence will be felt strongly as Conte’s men potentially face eight games in January.
They have seven guaranteed games before the end of the month. An eighth is also on the cards if they get past Portsmouth in the FA Cup third round.
Richardson’s enforced lay-off will also scupper Conte’s plans of easing Kane and Son back into action.
Kane was crestfallen as his crucial penalty miss sealed England’s defeat to France in Qatar, while Son only just returned to action after suffering a fractured cheekbone against Marseille in the Champions League.