Jose Mourinho has confirmed Tottenham's record signing Tanguy Ndombele is "ready" to face Manchester United on Friday.
The Frenchman has experienced a challenging first season since arriving from Lyon for €62m (£55.7m) last summer, managing two goals and two assists in 19 appearances, many of which have come from the bench.
He has also endured a rocky relationship with Mourinho, who publicly criticised him after a particularly poor performance against Burnley back in March.
The Spurs boss has since insisted that his words have sparked an improvement in Ndombele over the lockdown period, revealing the midfielder was in line for a start against United.
"When he was back to the training ground, he was committed, he worked," Mourinho said in his pre-match press conference (via the Standard).
"I can see he was much more integrated in the group, in the spirit of the group. I think he understands more and more what we want from him.
"So I'm happy with his last couple of weeks where he showed us some of the great qualities that we know that he has. So yes, [he's] ready for tomorrow."
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Both Mourinho and Ndombele found themselves in hot water back in April when the pair were spotted conducting a training session in a north London park. This was in violation of social distancing restrictions in place at the time and both were cautioned by Tottenham.
Spurs look set to have a fully fit squad to choose from when they face Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's team on Friday night.
Mourinho has already confirmed that Harry Kane, Son- Heung-min and Moussa Sissoko will start the game, while Steven Bergwijn has also shaken off a knock and is likely to feature is some capacity. Tottenham currently trail fifth placed United by four points and defeat would represent a bitter blow to their hopes of Champions League qualification.
Source : 90min