Tottenham Hotspur will still be without Oliver Skipp this evening after a gutting setback emerged ahead of kickoff...

What's the latest?

The north London outfit travel to the Etihad Stadium, where they will be looking to end a run of three successive defeats against defending champions Manchester City in the Premier League.

But manager Antonio Conte will be without his star midfielder once again, as revealed in an update from football.london journalist Alasdair Gold.

'Japhet Tanganga remains out with his knee injury while Oliver Skipp is still struggling with his groin problem, one that has been complicated by an infection during his recovery,' he wrote in an article for the website.

Huge blow

This development will surely leave the Italian head coach absolutely reeling as he badly needs a player of Skipp's quality back in the starting XI, especially against Pep Guardiola's side, who will look to dominate possession in the heart of the pitch.

It's no coincidence that Spurs' poor form has coincided with the absence of the England U21 international as he offers a solid and reliable presence in front of the backline.

Despite being only 21, Skipp has quickly emerged as a key figure in this Lilywhites squad and his absence is extremely obvious, as seen in the games against Arsenal and Chelsea earlier in the season and more recently in the recent defeats to Southampton and Wolves.

The young academy product, along with Eric Dier and Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg, are so crucial as Spurs have not conceded a goal in the Premier League with the three starting under Conte (five games).

But without them, they have leaked 13 goals across seven games with any of the three missing.

"This player is very young, he has a lot of space for improvement. He played with great passion and heart. It was important. We are talking about an important prospect," Conte said of Skipp in December.

There's no denying that the 21-year-old gem is very important to Spurs and their fortunes, so to be dealt a further setback to his injury status is certainly going to leave the manager hugely gutted, if not worried ahead of a tricky trip to City.

AND in other news, Conte's future at Spurs could depend on ONE thing this summer...