Tottenham Hotspur manager Antonio Conte has provided an update on the injuries that Richarlison, Ben Davies and Rodrigo Bentancur sustained at the World Cup.
All three players returned to Hotspur Way with issues from the Qatar tournament, as Davies and Bentancur were eliminated from the group stage with Wales and Uruguay respectively.
Meanwhile, Richarlison was Brazil's leading number nine during their run to the quarter-finals, as the Selecao suffered defeat to Croatia on penalties following a 1-1 draw.
During that contest against the Checkered Ones, Richarlison was taken off on the 84-minute mark after sustaining a hamstring injury, and there are fears that the 25-year-old could remain sidelined for a number of weeks.
Ahead of Tottenham's return to competitive action, Conte told SPURSPLAY that Richarlison would undergo an MRI scan on his injury on Thursday, after which he would have a better idea of the forward's recovery timeframe.
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"For Richy, tomorrow he's going to have an MRI (scan) to know very well the importance of the injury. After tomorrow we will see very well the time he needs to recover," Conte said.
As for Bentancur, the Uruguay international was an early casualty of his country's 2-0 win over Ghana in Group H on December 2, which was not enough for Diego Alonso's men to progress to the knockout rounds.
Reports at the time speculated that the midfielder could spend three weeks on the sidelines after sustaining that thigh injury, and he will be unlikely to return before the New Year's Day clash with Aston Villa.
"Rodrigo has started to work. I think that he's going to be good for the game against Aston Villa," added Conte, who had more positive news to share on the condition of Wales defender Davies.
The 29-year-old started the Dragons' final Group B match - a 3-0 defeat to England on November 29 - but he was brought off just before the hour mark after picking up an abdominal injury.
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Davies's injury is understood to be in the oblique area, but Conte revealed that the Welshman has now been back in full training for a few days, saying: "Ben Davies is okay and started to work with us last week. He has recovered."
Aside from Richarlison, Bentancur and Davies, Tottenham's only other injury concern is left-wing back Ryan Sessegnon, who is still dealing with a hamstring problem and has reportedly not yet returned to full training.
Tottenham will play their second and final winter friendly at home to Ligue 1 side Nice on Wednesday evening, having already thumped Motherwell 4-0 on December 9 thanks to a brace from Matt Doherty and further strikes from Dejan Kulusevski and Bryan Gil.
Conte's side, who sit fourth in the Premier League table, will then resume their top-flight campaign with a London derby away to Brentford in a Boxing Day lunchtime kickoff.
Ben Knapton
