Igor Tudor has enough on his plate at Tottenham without potentially losing two key players for their trip to Liverpool on Sunday afternoon.
A calamitous display away to Atletico Madrid in midweek extended Tudor's record as interim Tottenham Hotspur boss to four straight defeats, and Spurs will now return to trying to move themselves away from a realistic threat of relegation this weekend.
However, Tudor could be without both captain Cristian Romero and midfielder Joao Palhinha at Anfield after they were both injured in the same incident against Atletico.
What the concussion protocol says about Cristian Romero and Joao Palhinha before Liverpool trip
Palhinha and Romero clashed heads midway through the second half of that 5-2 defeat, with Palhinha getting subbed off after several minutes of treatment on the pitch.
Romero then went off too in injury time having initially played on but then struggling - and both players may now be subject to the FA's concussion protocols, which would rule them out at the weekend and possibly for the reverse leg against Atletico.
The concussion protocol for professional players follows the enhanced care pathway.
It stipulates that players with suspected concussion symptoms must have a rest period of 48 hours followed by a six-day gradual return to training.
All being well, the guidelines are that light exercise is permitted in days three and four, football-specific exercise in days five and six, non-contact training in days seven and eight, and then full-contact training in days nine, 10 and 11.
Any issues that emerge as part of that process would mean that players must be given a longer to recovery
However, a return to match action can be permitted from day seven in 'exceptional criteria' - which would be Tuesday for Palhinha and Romero if they were to recover well enough to qualify.
Spurs travel to Liverpool for a 4:30pm kick-off on Sunday before hosting Atletico on Wednesday night.
Tudor could not be definitive on Tuesday night as to whether or not Romero and Palhinha would need to go through those protocols.
If they are ruled out against Liverpool, the pair would join a growing list of absentees that also includes the suspended Micky van de Ven, who was sent off against Crystal Palace, and long-term absentees like Ben Davies, Mohammed Kudus, Dejan Kulusevski and James Maddison.
Spurs go into this weekend just on 29 points, with Nottingham Forest and West Ham both on 28 either side of the relegation zone. West Ham are at home to Manchester City on Saturday evening, while Forest will host Fulham on Sunday at 2pm.
