Tottenham Hotspur manager Antonio Conte will be sweating on the availability of star winger Dejan Kulusevski ahead of tonight's Premier League clash with Crystal Palace...

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The Sweden sensation missed the New Year's Day defeat to Aston Villa with a slight muscular problem and he was sorely missed as Spurs struggled to muster up many chances in the final third.

Conte gave an update in his pre-game press conference, where he rated the 22-year-old's chances of featuring at 50%. He said (via the club's official website):

"He’s 50-50, we have a day and a half to make the right evaluation. For sure, it’s up to the player, the decision, because if his feeling is good, is positive, he can start to play. Otherwise, we won’t take a risk," before adding: "We have to monitor him day by day, then take the best decision. We have today and tomorrow to check the injury, and if the player gives his availability, he could play."

Kulusevski is needed

Even if he's involved this evening, it's hard to imagine the former Juventus dynamo starting, given Conte's comments on the situation and this will surely leave the Italian sweating as his side were so poor a few days ago.

Against Villa, the Lilywhites only mustered up two shots on target, with the lightweight and relatively inexperienced Bryan Gil featuring alongside Harry Kane and Heung-min Son for the first time in the Premier League.

Kulusevski provides a lot in attack. He's a goal threat and a creative talent, and is perhaps one of the most important players in the squad. The Swede has provided six goals and 13 assists in 33 appearances across the last 11 months.

He is currently leading the squad for assists in the top-flight this campaign and only Son matches his key passes per game output, so it's understandable that Tottenham labour immensely without him in the starting XI.

It's no wonder Kulusevski has been described as a "non-stop machine" and an "absolute monster" by journalist Nima Tavallaey Roodsar in the past, whilst the £53m-rated gem has previously been dubbed very "important" to the team by Conte himself, only adding to how badly he'll be missed if absent again.

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