Spurs use youngsters in injury-hit midfield for Milan clash

Antonio Conte has handed the midfield reins of his injury-hit Tottenham team to youngsters Oliver Skipp and Pape Matar Sarr for Tuesday’s Champions League clash at Milan.

Spurs lost Rodrigo Bentancur for the rest of the season with a knee ligament injury on Monday and Yves Bissouma will undergo surgery on a stress fracture to his left ankle.

Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg is suspended so Skipp and Sarr start in a four-man midfield flanked by Ivan Perisic and Emerson Royal, while Fraser Forster starts in goal in place of injured France captain Hugo Lloris.

England captain Harry Kane spearheads the Tottenham attack.

Italian coach Conte is back at the San Siro, where he led Inter Milan to the Serie A title in 2021, and will be in the Spurs dugout two weeks after undergoing gallbladder surgery.

Milan boss Stefano Pioli sticks with the new three-man central defence trialled with mixed results in their last two Serie A fixtures against Inter Milan and Torino, for his team’s first Champions League knockout tie in nine years.

England international defender Fikayo Tomori is still out with a hip problem so Simon Kjaer starts alongside Malick Thiaw, who makes his first Champions League appearance for Milan, and Pierre Kalulu.

Rade Krunic starts with Italy international Sandro Tonali as Algeria midfielder Ismael Bennacer misses out with a thigh injury.

Former Arsenal and Chelsea striker Olivier Giroud starts as Milan’s lone target man, backed up by Rafael Leao and Brahim Diaz.