Just when Tottenham Hotspur fans thought their injury woes couldn’t get any worse, Dele Alli pulled up with a hamstring issue against Fulham.
Spurs managed to pull through at Craven Cottage, winning 2-1 thanks to a late Harry Winks header, but it now leaves them weak in attack for their huge Carabao Cup semi-final second leg against Chelsea.
With Harry Kane already absent until early March, Heung-Min Son on international duty, Lucas Moura nursing a knee problem, and Fernando Llorente clearly at odds with Mauricio Pochettino’s tactical plans, Alli was considered as a potential forward.
Now the Argentine must look again at his options, with Lucas a possible returning player, and he might just have a selection headache.
So, how could Spurs look on Thursday night at Stamford Bridge? Find out below.
In a back-four
Pochettino’s first option is to draft Eric Dier back into the starting XI after his return against Fulham from the bench and add some extra steel to midfield in the absence of the crocked Sissoko.
The England ace also adds versatility being able cover at right-back should out-of-form Kieran Trippier be caught too far up the pitch, while he can also slot into central defence should he be needed there too.
A narrow midfield five, including attacking stars Lucas, Erik Lamela, and Christian Eriksen, should be sufficient to cover and counter-press the Chelsea midfield three.
It would, though, mean another start for Llorente, who can only get better after his display at Fulham, although Under-23s forward Kazaiah Sterling must be under serious consideration.
In a back-three
To try and deal with his lack of midfield and forward options, Pochettino returned to a back-three against Fulham with Davinson Sanchez splitting Toby Alderweireld and Jan Vertonghen, which was slightly odd given the Colombian’s previous struggles against not only Aleksandar Mitrovic but physically imposing forwards in general.
Nonetheless, Pochettino could do the same agains Chelsea but, with Lucas returning, we could see Llorente dropped and Lamela play as a deeper forward marking Jorginho, and allowing Eriksen and Lucas to drift out wide or surge beyond the Argentine attacker.