Dejan Kulusevski pictured arriving for Tottenham’s clash with Aston Villa but matchday squad absence explained

Dejan Kulusevski was seen arriving for Tottenham’s clash against Aston Villa but was absent from their matchday squad.

Antonio Conte’s side will start 2023 with a home game against Unai Emery’s Villa with a place in the Premier League top four up for grabs.

Kulusevski has been key for Spurs lately but he won’t feature against Villa due to injury.

Alasdair Gold reported that he was out of action with a “minor muscle injury”, and he will have a CT scan on Monday.

He played the full 90 minutes in their 2-2 draw with Brentford last week as Spurs again dropped points.

However, the winger won’t make an appearance in the new year yet.

Despite his absence, Cristian Romero and Hugo Lloris both returned to the starting XI after their appearances in the World Cup final.

Bryan Gil has been named in the starting lineup for the first time this season, joining Harry Kane and Heung-min Son in attack.

Meanwhile for Villa, keeper Emiliano Martinez returned to the squad after winning the World Cup with Argentina.

He was, however, only named on the bench, with Robin Olsen remaining between the sticks.

Spurs could well have been content with the services of Kulusevski up front as they lost 2-0 to Villa.

An error by Lloris led to Emi Buendia’s opener, before Douglas Luiz netted a second for Emery’s side.