The seven matches Tottenham’s AFCON players could miss in December and January

Tottenham Hotspur are in a good position right now, but the African Cup of Nations will see some players become unavailable.

AFCON begins in little more than two months and Tottenham Hotspur would have been without an additional player compared with the tournament’s previous edition.

Pape Matar Sarr and Yves Bissouma will once again play at the competition, and Spurs now have another African player in Mohammed Kudus. However, Kudus will not play AFCON because Ghana finished rock bottom of their qualifying group.

This means Tottenham will only be without two players, and since Bissouma is yet to play this season anyway, the club are actually in a favourable position.

How many Spurs matches will the AFCON players miss?

The African Cup of Nations begins on December 21 and concludes on January 18. Tottenham have five scheduled fixtures during this period, but Sarr and Bissouma could miss up to four more.

The fixtures the midfielders will definitely miss are:

• December 20: Liverpool (H)
• December 27: Crystal Palace (A)
• December 30: Brentford (A)

Sarr and Bissouma could also miss Tottenham’s trip to the City Ground to take on Ange Postecoglou’s Nottingham Forest, should they leave early for AFCON. The fixture is currently set to take place on December 13.

Four further fixtures could be missed depending on how far Senegal and Mali progress in the tournament.

• January 3: Sunderland (A)

If teams reach the last 16

• January 7: Bournemouth (A)

If teams reach the quarter-finals

• January 17: West Ham (H)
• January 20: Borussia Dortmund (H)

If teams reach the final

Sarr and Bissouma could also miss Tottenham’s FA Cup third round tie scheduled for the weekend of January 10 and the Carabao Cup semi-final first leg if Spurs make it that far.

Tottenham should not be concerned about AFCON impact

Spurs may have only been without the same players during the previous AFCON tournament, but the Asian Cup occurred at the same time. This meant the club were missing key players such as Heung-min Son on top of their African contingent.

The Asian Cup only takes place every four years, which means Tottenham will only lose Sarr and Bissouma this time around.

Sarr has made a bright start to the season, and his loss will be noticeable. However, Spurs do have a host of options, including Xavi Simons and Lucas Bergvall, who can keep Thomas Frank’s midfield strong.

Bissouma does not appear to have a future at Tottenham anyway, so the lack of his presence will not be felt. All things considered, Spurs should not be too affected by AFCON.

READ MORE – Tottenham star forced to chase rat off the pitch in bizarre moment on international duty

The post The seven matches Tottenham’s AFCON players could miss in December and January appeared first on Spurs Web.