Spurs boss Conte hits out at authorities over player welfare

Tottenham boss Antonio Conte has criticised football chiefs for putting players’ health at risk with a relentless fixture schedule as the Italian battles his club’s mounting injury list.

Conte will be without Son Heung-min, Richarlison and Cristian Romero for Sunday’s Premier League match against Liverpool.

The trio face a race against time to be fit for the World Cup, which starts in Qatar on November 20.

Conte also has fitness doubts over Rodrigo Bentancur and Lucas Moura, with Dejan Kulusevski potentially returning this weekend after last playing for Spurs in mid-September.

Having repeatedly criticised FIFA’s decision to play the World Cup mid-season, Conte has now turned his fire on the Premier League and European governing body UEFA for the “impossible situation” they have created with games every few days.

He also questioned why the English Football League have arranged the League Cup fourth round just days after the World Cup final, which takes place on December 18.

“Many times I hear about the welfare of the players but it is only a polite way to show that you are really interested in the welfare of the players, because they are not really worried about the welfare of the players if the schedule is this,” Conte said on Friday.

“In every moment you show that the most important thing is the show must go on and then please I don’t want to hear in the future, to listen about people speaking about the welfare of the players because this is not true.

“We knew it was crazy to put a World Cup during the league and the Champions League. This type of schedule is crazy.”