Antonio Conte, the manager of Tottenham Hotspur, expressed his “not really happy” at the Premier League starting up just eight days after the World Cup ended and made a suggestion that he would rest certain players for the Boxing Day encounter at Brentford.

Hugo Lloris of France and Cristian Romero of Argentina, who participated in the final on Sunday, have been excluded from Monday’s encounter out of the 12 Tottenham players who played in Qatar, according to manager Antonio Conte.

“It is a strange situation and honestly to play so quickly, only one week after the World Cup, I am not really happy,” Conte said in comments published in British media on Sunday.

Read Also:Rashford,Fred, Dalot and Shaw Signs New Contract With Man United

“It is impossible to give them a lot of rest and for sure with the players that didn’t play the World Cup and we work for four weeks.

” Now they are at a level that is better than the players who finished the World Cup.

“For this reason I think I have to make the best decision for the game against Brentford,” Conte said, adding that the players who returned from the World Cup are “not at the top” level at the moment.

Richarlison will be sidelined for three to four weeks with a hamstring injury he sustained while playing up for Brazil at the World Cup, and Rodrigo Bentancur will miss the match owing to a suspension and a hamstring problem.

Conte said Lucas Moura has been “struggling” with a tendon issue.

“It’s a difficult situation because I have a good player in my squad, but he’s never available. It’s like you don’t have him,” he said.

With 29 points after 15 games, Tottenham is fourth in the standings, eight points behind the league-leading Arsenal, who still have a game remaining.