Watch: How Dejan Kulusevski reacted as Tottenham return game confirmed

“Yes, Kulusevski on the bench. We had a meeting with the medical staff, they gave the okay and it's great news,” the Spurs head coach said in the pre-match press conference on Sunday morning.

“I think it's one of the best news after Everton game last season, because Deki, he suffered too much. He deserves to feel emotion on the pitch.

“Yesterday, after the training, I spoke with him and I said to him, ‘Deki, look, I spoke with the medical staff, and they gave me the okay’ and he smiled like this.

“We are happy, we are very, very happy.

"It's not football. I'm not speaking about football. Okay, he's a special player, but we are speaking about different things. He suffered a lot and his reaction was great.”

While Kulusevski’s availability is a huge boost for Spurs, De Zerbi has revealed Savio, Lucas Bergvall and Pedro Porro are absent, joining the suspended Rodrigo Bentancur on the unavailable list.