Ange Postecoglou is short on options across his Tottenham squad right now due to a number of different injury issues. Losing Micky van de Ven and Wilson Odobert to the treatment room at the end of October, Guglielmo Vicario, Cristian Romero and Richarlison have since joined the duo in there.
Tottenham have also had to make do without Mikey Moore of late due to a virus. Speaking to the media ahead of last weekend's game against Manchester City, Postecoglou revealed that the winger "will still be out for a little bit of time" and that the club will take their time with him when it comes to his return.
Spurs also have Rodrigo Bentancur unavailable in the Premier League right now due to the seven-match ban the FA dished out to him following his comments about teammate Son Heung-min in the summer. The Uruguayan has already served one of those seven matches after sitting out last Saturday's 4-0 win at Manchester City.
Bentancur is not due to return to Premier League action until Boxing Day when Tottenham travel to the City Ground to face Nottingham Forest. However, there is the possibility that he could be back slightly earlier as the north London club have appealed against the length of his ban, something they described as "severe".
Bentancur is going to have to bide his time to return to Tottenham's Premier League XI but he is available for selection for Spurs' Europa League home tie against Roma on Thursday evening as his ban only applies to domestic games. That in turn makes it a very easy decision for Postecoglou when it comes to his starting XI to take on the Giallorossi.
As Tottenham's No.30 has another month to wait until he can step back onto the pitch in a Premier League game, it is vital that Spurs keep his match fitness up to ensure his levels don't drop too much by the time it comes to the Nottingham Forest match. Bentancur will of course still be working day in, day out with the rest of the squad at Hotspur Way but there is no fitness like match fitness.
Thursday's game against Roma gives him the opportunity to get some much-needed playing time under his belt and the same goes for the trip to Rangers on Thursday, December 12. Postecoglou has so far demonstrated in Europe that he will make changes to his team but he may opt to go as strong as possible against the Italian giants despite their struggles in Serie A.
It's vital that Tottenham do bounce back in UEFA's second club competition after falling to a 3-2 defeat against Galatasaray last time out. Midfield is one area of the pitch the Australian does have a bit of choice as Bentancur, Lucas Bergvall and Dejan Kulusevski are options in the middle of the park as well as the trio of Yves Bissouma Pape Matar Sarr and James Maddison who started at Manchester City.
Archie Gray is another who could start there, although a starting spot in one of the full-back positions looks most likely for the talented teenager. Given the midfield options available to Postecoglou to take on Roma, Bentancur needs to be his first pick when it comes to deciding on his midfield.
In an interview with Sky Sports last week regarding the FA's decision over the former Juventus midfielder, Postecoglou hailed his player's form this season and also outlined the need to ensure Bentancur is "ready to go" when available for selection once again.
"It's disappointing because he's been great for us this year," said the 59-year-old. "He's one of the ones whose football has gone up a level. But we understood this was kind of coming and there was an acceptance from everyone that whatever the sort of penalties were… I fully support the club's decision to appeal the severity of the ban, but ultimately we know it's going to be for X number of games.
"We will work with Rodrigo through that and make sure within that time he has all our support in all the right ways so when he is available again he's ready to go."
In order to ensure Bentancur is fit and firing for the trip to Nottingham Forest, starts in the Europa League ties against Roma and Rangers are so important.