Tottenham Hotspur will still be without Dejan Kulusevski for tonight's Premier League clash with Brighton and Hove Albion...

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That's according to The Athletic's reliable Jack Pitt-Brooke, who provided an update on the 22-year-old's situation ahead of kick-off.

"Dejan Kulusevski still out for Spurs' trip to Brighton tomorrow," he tweeted alongside an accompanying article.

Kulusevski picked up an issue with Sweden during the international break and has missed both of their recent outings - a 3-1 defeat to arch-rivals Arsenal and a goalless draw with Eintracht Frankfurt in the Champions League.

Lilywhites boss Antonio Conte had hoped he would be available down at the Amex Stadium, claiming: "I hope to recover him quickly, but I don’t know if for the next game [Brighton], or for the game in the Champions League against Eintracht Frankfurt at home [on Wednesday]."

Big blow for Conte

The Swedish dynamo will sit this one out alongside the suspended Emerson Royal and injured teammate Lucas Moura, though he is the biggest blow of the lot.

It's abundantly clear that Spurs have missed his presence in the final third as they have only mustered up one goal in his absence, and on Tuesday night, a front three of Harry Kane, Richarlison and Heung-min Son registered only two shots on target all game.

Kulusevski ranks amongst the top three players in the squad for both accurate passes into the penalty area (1.64 per 90) and completed crosses into the box (0.55 per 90), via FBref, so it's easy to see why Conte's attack has faltered without him, and that's not mentioning his impressive G/A record.

Since arriving in north London back in January, the former Juventus star has provided six goals and 11 assists, averaging a direct contribution every 114 minutes across his 29 appearances, as per Transfermarkt.

It is also, therefore, no surprise to have seen the Italian head coach laud him as an "important" player to this squad as recently as March this year.

The Seagulls are no pushovers - in fact, they sit just three points behind Tottenham heading into this evening's encounter, so not having a player as crucial and as threatening as Kulusevski is certainly another gutting setback in this injury saga.

AND in other news, £80k-p/w Spurs "machine" could complete Conte's exciting transition...