Huge blow: Spurs dealt setback as early NUFC team news emerges, Conte will be fuming - opinion

Tottenham Hotspur have been dealt a huge injury blow ahead of their upcoming Premier League meeting with Newcastle United.

That’s according to Dan Kilpatrick, with the Evening Standard journalist revealing in a recent article that, despite Antonio Conte’s hope that the 21-year-old would be fit for the visit of Newcastle this Sunday, the England U21 international is no closer to making a return to first-team training.

In his piece, Kilpatrick wrote: “Antonio Conte’s hopes of having Oliver Skipp back in contention this weekend are all but over, with the midfielder still yet to return to first-team training.”

While any player being sidelined due to injury would cause a manager a great deal of frustration, considering just how important a player Skipp is to Conte, in addition to the 52-year-old previously suggesting that the youngster could make a return to first-team action this weekend, the news that the midfielder is no closer to a recovering from his knock is sure to have left the Italian fuming.

Indeed, following Conte’s appointment at Tottenham in November last year, the £18m-rated 21-year-old has featured in all but one of the 14 games in which he has been available for selection.

It is not difficult to see why this has been the case, as, over his 18 Premier League appearances so far this season, the £25k-per-week academy graduate has highly impressed for Spurs, making an average of 42.3 passes, 0.7 interceptions, 1.8 tackles and winning 3.6 duels – at a success rate of 54% – per game – with these returns seeing the midfielder average a SofaScore match rating of 6.81.

As such, it is clear for all to see that the continued absence of the England youth international will come as a huge blow to the 52-year-old manager,