Chelsea must stick together to keep their top-four hopes alive this season, with Cesar Azpilicueta calling on his team-mates to staunch their loss of points.

The Blues slipped to a draw against Nottingham Forest on Sunday, as Serge Aurier cancelled out Raheem Sterling's opener in a 1-1 encounter.

It leaves Graham Potter's side with just one win in their past five Premier League games, and with a seven-point gap to fourth-place Manchester United.

With only 25 points this season, Chelsea are slipping away from Champions League qualification contention, but Azpilicueta issued a cry to turn matters around.

"Every point matters, and today we lost two points, that's clear," he told Sky Sports. "Since the beginning of the season, we [have] lost too many points.

"Now we are far from where we want to be, and every game you don't win is a chance that you miss. This is the reality when you see the table, that's where we are.

"We need to have a very good second half of the season if we want to achieve Champions League for next season. We have to stick together.

"We know this is not the most pleasant time, but in these difficult moments, we need everybody to stick together, to work hard, to improve, to be humble."

Sterling's early goal had looked to put Chelsea in firm control at the City Ground, but Steve Cooper's under-fire hosts bounced back in the second half.

With nine shots against one from the Blues after the interval, Forest earned their equaliser, and Azpilicueta acknowledges his side let the game slip away.

"They were putting more pressure [on us] and we were not able to escape," he added. "They created a few chances, and we lost two points.

"We were not able to find the right space to calm down their reaction. We were not able to manage that kind of situations."

Chelsea will regather themselves next for back-to-back clashes with Manchester City, facing Pep Guardiola's side in the Premier League and FA Cup next week.

Graham Potter described Chelsea's performance as "not good enough" after a 1-1 draw at Nottingham Forest – as Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink warned the Blues face Champions League misery.

Hasselbaink believes his former club are destined to miss out on a top-four finish after they slipped up at the City Ground on New Year's Day.

Chelsea won the Champions League only two seasons ago, and head coach Potter may find himself under pressure if they are not playing in Europe's premier club competition in the 2023-24 campaign.

The London club are eighth in the Premier League, seven points behind fourth-placed Manchester United.

Ex-Blues striker Hasselbaink told Sky Sports: "I think they are too far from the top four. Yes, they do miss some really important players – [Reece] James, [N'Golo] Kante, [Ben] Chilwell – but they are defensive-orientated players.

"He [Potter] needs to win matches, he needs to win as many matches as possible. Chelsea need to be in the Champions League. That's not going to happen.

"He's had a lot of injuries and you need to give him time. You need to give him time to mould his team."

Potter saw Chelsea squander an early lead on Sunday, with Raheem Sterling's strike countered by a fine second-half reply from Serge Aurier.

Former Brighton and Hove Albion boss Potter described it as "a hard-earned point against a team that's set up well", and he praised the spirit in the Forest ranks that saw them raise the tempo after half-time.

But that may not wash with the Chelsea supporters who expect their team to be able to ride out such pressure against teams battling to avoid relegation.

Forest, who are 18th in the table, could easily have secured all three points, as they had the better chances in a lively game.

Chelsea have won just one of their last seven Premier League games, losing three and drawing three in that run.

"Our performance level wasn't good enough, I don't think, to take the three points," Potter said.

"When we had control of the game we didn't move the ball fast enough, there wasn't enough movement for us, and when we lost control of the game we struggled a bit."

Potter said it "would have been unfair" if Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang had converted a late chance. As it happened, the striker failed to get his head on a cross from Hakim Ziyech.

The Chelsea boss said his side "didn't deserve to win the game with that", and he refused to discuss possible new signings, amid claims defender Benoit Badiashile is poised to sign from Monaco.

Asked about Champions League qualification, Potter said: "We've got a long way to go in terms of how we want the team to look and the performance level. It would be a mistake for us to worry about what can happen in five months' time.

"We need to focus on the next match and get our performance level better and more consistent."

The next match is a Premier League home game against reigning champions Manchester City on Thursday, and the game after that is another clash with City on Sunday in the FA Cup third round.

It gets no easier for Potter who said his team's midweek win against Bournemouth had been "a step forward".

"Today was a little bit of a backwards one," he added.

Serge Aurier stunned Chelsea with a clinical equaliser as Premier League strugglers Nottingham Forest secured a 1-1 draw at the City Ground.

A frenetic New Year's Day game saw Raheem Sterling fire Chelsea into a 16th-minute lead, but Forest had several good chances and hit the crossbar before Aurier pulled them level just after the hour.

Chelsea had lost their last three games on their travels, so they at least avoided a fourth successive defeat away from Stamford Bridge.

However, the point leaves them seven points behind fourth-placed Manchester United as head coach Graham Potter battles to put the Blues back in the hunt for a Champions League place.

The best early chance went to Forest in the 10th minute when Brennan Johnson ran in behind the Chelsea defence, forcing Kepa Arrizabalaga to make a sharp save before the goalkeeper gathered a half-hit follow-up attempt.

Yet Chelsea took the lead when Christian Pulisic's cross from the left was looped up against his own crossbar by defender Willy Boly, under pressure from Kai Havertz, with the ball bouncing out for Sterling to drive in from five yards.

Forest squandered another good opportunity early in the second half when Johnson elected to shoot from a narrowing angle rather than centre to an unmarked Taiwo Awoniyi, who was furious there was no pass.

They went even closer in the 55th minute when Morgan Gibbs-White sent an 18-yard drive crashing against the underside of the bar, but had their reward eight minutes later.

Former Tottenham right-back Aurier was an unlikely hero and his finish was excellent after a scramble on the edge of the six-yard box, controlling the ball with his chest when Boly headed to his fellow Ivorian before rifling powerfully past Kepa.

Substitute Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang missed a late chance to win it for Chelsea, who cannot afford to be dropping points against teams battling to avoid relegation.

The Chelsea Pride fan group condemned homophobic chants that were heard during the first half of the Blues' Premier League game against Nottingham Forest at the City Ground.

Moments after Chelsea took the lead in Sunday's contest, a chant of "Chelsea rent boys" was audible in the ground and on Sky Sports' television coverage.

The chant was defined in January 2022 as a hate crime by the Crown Prosecution Service, with Chelsea welcoming that decision at the time.

It has not been eradicated, though, and remains a slur occasionally aimed at Chelsea players.

Chelsea Pride, which describes itself as the club's official LGBTQ+ and Friends Supporters Group, said such a chant was unacceptable.

The group said in a statement: "We totally condemn the Chelsea Rent Boy chant that can be heard at the city ground. Time to call this out the game is live on @SkySportsPL This is now classed as a hate crime."

The Pride In Football organisation backed that reaction by stating: "We are very disappointed to hear that *one day* into 2023 and there is homophobia being heard at a football game.

"If you hear someone around you being homophobic, call them out. We need to kick homophobia out of football. This is not okay!"

Forest fan group LGBTQ Trickies hit out at those responsible and called for police action.

They said in a response to Chelsea Pride: "From all genuine #NFFC fans, please accept our apologies, not only do we hope @NottPolFootball will do their best to take action, we would hope @NFFC release a statement condoning this and take necessary action.

"We are embarrassed and ashamed."

Graham Potter has told his Chelsea players there can be no excuses for failure in 2023 – even as injuries strike at the heart of their squad.

The head coach will be without the sidelined Reece James, Ben Chilwell, N'Golo Kante and Wesley Fofana, among others, as Chelsea begin the new year at Nottingham Forest on Sunday.

Chelsea have lost their last three away games, last losing on four consecutive road trips in January and February 2019 under Maurizio Sarri, so the imperative is to end that dire streak immediately. Potter says he is experiencing his most "challenging" time as a coach.

Second-bottom Forest have not hosted Chelsea at the City Ground since February 1999, and Potter is wary of what he expects to be a fierce welcome by the River Trent.

However, the former Brighton and Hove Albion knows any grumbles about injuries simply will not wash, with Chelsea having an expensively assembled squad that is expected to deliver results.

Potter said: "Our job now is to try and get as many people back as we can. It's been a real tough period, as challenging as it's been I would say, in my time as a coach, but we're Chelsea and people don't want to hear those reasons, excuses.

"You've got to get on with it. And we've got to try your best to find the answers."

Forest were well beaten by Manchester United on Tuesday, going down 3-0 at Old Trafford, but they scored a home win against Liverpool in October, with Jurgen Klopp's team guilty of missing a host of chances that day.

Potter said: "Forest got a fantastic result against Liverpool. I have huge respect for Steve Cooper and the job that he's done there.

"He's tremendous, a fantastic coach. So they'll be ready, the atmosphere will be hostile. They're back in the Premier League for the first year for a long, long time.

"So every game, especially Chelsea coming to town, is a big game for them. So they'll be motivated, and they'll have the quality and they'll be fighting for the points. So we have to be ready."

Mateo Kovacic and Hakim Ziyech were absent as Chelsea beat Bournemouth 2-0 on Tuesday, but both have since returned from World Cup duty.

Chelsea have beaten Forest in their last seven meetings, the last of which was a 2-0 FA Cup third-round win in January 2020, and the Blues have only been beaten once in their last 11 away league games against promoted teams (W8 D2).

These two sides have made highly contrasting starts to recent calendar years, with Forest winning their opening league game in each of the past four years, albeit in the Championship each time.

Chelsea, in sharp contrast, have not mustered a win from their first league game in any of the last six calendar years (D4 L2), and last endured a longer bleak run in year-opening league games from 1929 to 1938, when they had four draws and six losses in a 10-game span.

Chelsea's 2022 included a disruptive change of ownership as the club passed out of Roman Abramovich's hands and into the control of Todd Boehly.

Potter then replaced former head coach Thomas Tuchel in September, and there are hopes a new year will bring stability as well as success.

"We want to keep improving. There's a simple answer," Potter said, when asked for his new year wishes for the team.

"We've had a challenging [time], some ups and some downs in terms of the previous year, which is normal, I think, in any football club, but we want to try and stabilise, and we want to try and improve and make our supporters happy.

"We know that before the break, the last few weeks, it wasn't nice for us. Results suffered and performances weren't where we'd like them to be. So we have to do better than that."

Erik ten Hag was not entirely satisfied with Manchester United's finishing despite comfortably seeing off Nottingham Forest 3-0 at Old Trafford on Tuesday.

United returned to Premier League action following the World Cup and ultimately cruised to a straightforward victory that leaves them just a point behind fourth-placed Tottenham with a game in hand.

First-half goals from Marcus Rashford and Anthony Martial sent United on their way before Fred rounded things off in the final minutes.

But United wasted several decent opportunities before Fred's Casemiro-inspired goal, with Antony and Rashford spurning particularly good chances.

And that proved to be a key area of focus for Ten Hag after the game.

"It's what I said in the dressing room, we have to score more goals," he told Prime Video.

"We created so many chances and it takes us until just before the end to score the third goal. We need to finish this game in an earlier moment.

"Just after half-time we had two really good chances to finish the game. Life would be more easy.

"There are many games to come, [if you get a third goal then] you can then save energy and it is better for everyone, but also for the progress of the team, we need to be more clinical.

"We have players who can score.

"You can see Martial and Rashford are goalscorers; Bruno Fernandes scores goals. We have a lot of players who can score, but we have to be ruthless."

Ten Hag has already confirmed United are keen to bring in attacking reinforcements during the January transfer window following the departure of Cristiano Ronaldo.

PSV forward Cody Gakpo was widely considered the most likely to arrive but it emerged on Monday that the Netherlands international is close to joining Liverpool after the two clubs agreed a fee.

Ten Hag was asked about Liverpool's move for Gakpo, though he was unsurprisingly keen to avoid speaking about his compatriot.

"I don't talk about individual cases," he said.

"We are looking for offensive players, we are looking for a striker. It would be good because we have games coming, so many, every third day, and it's tough.

"You want to play in all the competitions we are in, we want to stay in them hopefully until the end of the season, so you need numbers in the squad to cover them all.

"I think we are always in the market, but it has to match the sporting criteria and the financial criteria, and we do what we can to bring in what we need."

While the Red Devils appear to have missed out on Gakpo, the August arrival of Casemiro proves United retain the ability to attract the best in the world.

The Brazil international was central to Tuesday's win, brilliantly winning the ball back near his own corner flag in the build-up to United's second goal before also inspiring Fred's clincher.

Those two incidents fitted into the wider narrative of his all-round brilliance in midfield as he recorded a joint-high three key passes, attempted more tackles than anyone else (five) and was engaged in the most duels (11).

For Ten Hag, Casemiro is a blessing.

"I can't deny that, I can only confirm," Ten Hag replied when Casemiro's importance was highlighted by a pundit. "It's a pleasure to work with him.

"I think everyone can see how important he is. The performance, the level he brings to the team is huge."

Marcus Rashford was the inspiration as Manchester United beat Nottingham Forest 3-0 at Old Trafford on Tuesday in their first Premier League game since the World Cup break.

Rashford played a starring role in the EFL Cup defeat of Burnley last week and was again United's standout performer as they moved to within a point of fourth-placed Tottenham.

The England forward opened the scoring for a dominant United with a goal straight off the training ground before setting up Anthony Martial.

Forest had a goal wiped out just before the break, but it was not a precursor to United coming under greater scrutiny in the second period as they coasted before adding a late third through substitute Fred.

Erik ten Hag was forced to pick a somewhat unfamiliar backline due to illness, with Luke Shaw at centre-back.

But there was no sign of that inhibiting United, and they were deservedly ahead before long, with Rashford providing a wonderfully deft finish from Christian Eriksen's smart corner delivery.

Rashford was key again as United made it 2-0 three minutes later, latching on to Bruno Fernandes' clever pass and teeing up Martial to beat the unconvincing Wayne Hennessey at the end of a counter-attack that stemmed from Casemiro's brilliant recovery.

Willy Boly deflected Ryan Yates' header in on the stroke of half-time, only for the goal to be disallowed for offside.

United should have taken advantage of that let-off early in the second half when Antony spurned a glorious opportunity with only Hennessey to beat.

Rashford also wasted a good chance when scuffing substitute Donny van de Beek's cut-back, but United put the game beyond Forest late on as Casemiro won the ball back, surged into the final third and found Fred for an easy finish.

What does it mean? Red Devils looking free without Cristiano Ronaldo

The mid-World Cup announcement of Ronaldo's exit was generally greeted favourably by United fans, with the Portugal striker resembling a square peg in a round hole in the first part of the season.

While Burnley and Forest may not be the greatest of opponents, United have looked fluid and unshackled going forward with Ronaldo not there to hold them back.

They should have scored more than they did on Tuesday, but there was always a sense they could have cranked things up a notch if needed – that ultimately was not a necessity as they comfortably saw off a mediocre Forest side.

Casemiro shows his class

Rashford will dominate the headlines, but this was a masterclass from Casemiro. He played a crucial role in United's second when winning the ball back near his own corner flag; then he did similar and provided the assist for their third. He was imperious.

Antony a source of frustration

Although he has chipped in with a few goals, United fans are still waiting for Antony to really explode. That certainly did not occur here.

His decision-making was largely poor. He failed to tally a single key pass and wasted a tremendous chance in the second half before being withdrawn.

What's next?

United go to Wolves on Saturday, while Forest are home to Chelsea the following day.

Jesse Lingard accused Manchester United of making "false promises" to him during his final months at the club ahead of his first return to Old Trafford with Nottingham Forest on Tuesday.

Lingard came through United's academy, spending 22 years at the club before his departure on a free transfer at the end of last season.

The England international had been largely a rotation option during his time in United's senior squad, but he fell well down the pecking order in the 2020-21 campaign as he failed to make a single Premier League appearance in the first half of the season.

That led to him joining West Ham on loan and reinvigorating his career in London, scoring nine Premier League goals – a personal best for a single campaign – in 16 appearances.

Such form suggested Lingard still had a future at United and the club reportedly refused several transfer offers, but he remained a bit-part player in 2021-22; his 22 appearances across all competitions included just four starts.

His lack of minutes at the club during his final couple of years at United remains a source of bewilderment for Lingard, who will hope to prove a point in Forest's first league game since the World Cup.

"I don't know why I wasn't playing," Lingard told the Telegraph.

"I don't know what the problem was, whether it was politics or whatever. I still haven't got an answer to this day. I didn't even ask.

"I'd rather that someone, out of respect for me being there that long, told me 'this is why you're not playing', but I never got that.

"It was false promises. I was training hard and I was sharp, I was ready to play those games. When you're working hard in training and don't play at the end of it, it's very frustrating.

"I had to grind out that last year because I knew I'd be [leaving] on a free [transfer].

"I'm not really the type of guy to sulk. Around the dressing room, I'm always that bubbly character with good vibes. 

"I was getting on with my training and doing my work, then here and there I'd come on and try to give my best. The last year was difficult."

Despite the frustration Lingard holds on to regarding his final years at United, resentment does not appear to have taken root.

Generally regarded a popular figure in the dressing room before he left the club, Lingard is not going to Old Trafford on Tuesday with revenge on the mind.

Instead, he is looking forward to finally being able to bid farewell.

"It will be an enjoyable one, but we want to win the game," he added.

"You can't get caught up too much emotionally, [but] it's a chance to say my goodbyes because I never really got that."

Forest go to Old Trafford second from bottom in the Premier League with only 13 points, while United will be hoping to reduce the gap to the top four back down to one point.

Manchester United defender Lisandro Martinez must be ready to make an impact on his return to club football after Argentina's World Cup win, manager Erik ten Hag warned.

Martinez featured in five of Argentina's seven games as they clinched their third World Cup title in Qatar, starting twice.

Argentina's victory – which was sealed via a penalty shoot-out after a pulsating 3-3 draw with France – sparked wild celebrations in the country, with Tuesday's parade in Buenos Aires being cut short as huge crowds held up the team's bus.

While United boss Ten Hag says Martinez must savour his career highlight, he emphasised the need for the Red Devils' squad to switch focus as the Premier League returns.

"I can understand that it's emotional, it's very loaded when you achieve this. When you get the World Cup into your country it's magnificent, it's the highest thing you can achieve," he said.

"But also Licha has to accept that on the 27th, the Premier League will go on.

"We all know that the restart is five or six days after the World Cup final, and we all know that after the World Cup, the Premier League continues quickly. 

"Everyone has to be ready for that and you have to accept it; the manager, the coaching staff, but also the players. 

"We wanted to have a strong team to battle for the trophies. We spoke about the tough competition, so we have to be ready for it and it's not easy."

Having beaten Burnley to reach the last eight of the EFL Cup on Wednesday, United return to Premier League action against Nottingham Forest next Tuesday.

Martinez and fellow defender Raphael Varane will almost certainly be absent after helping their countries to the World Cup final, but Ten Hag has backed the France man to bounce back from the disappointment of seeing Argentina triumph.

"Of course, he's disappointed about losing the final, but I think he can be proud that he was in the final again, and of everything that he achieved already in his career," Ten Hag said of Varane.

"As a team, or as a player like Rapha, when you win so many trophies and now he's second [in the World Cup], I think you can still be proud because getting to the final is already a big achievement.

"I think the level of the nations was so close as they came into the final, then it was even in the final, as you know, they were very close."

United entered the World Cup break three points adrift of a top-four place with a game in hand, and although Ten Hag recognises his side are under pressure to qualify for the Champions League, he believes their rivals are in the same situation.

"As you say, I accept it, how it is, but I think it's also for the manager of Chelsea, for Newcastle United and all those clubs invested a lot in their squads," he said. "That will be for every manager.

"It's a big pressure to get into the Champions League, that's clear. You want to be in the top four and you want to fight for trophies and that's our aim."

Manchester United will host third-tier Charlton Athletic in the quarter-finals of the EFL Cup, while Manchester City face Southampton after eliminating last season's winners Liverpool.

Goals from Christian Eriksen and Marcus Rashford saw United beat Championship leaders Burnley at Old Trafford on Wednesday, and another home tie will await the Red Devils in the last eight.

League One Charlton are the only non-Premier League side remaining in the competition after the Addicks won a penalty shoot-out to upset Brighton and Hove Albion on Wednesday.

United boss Erik ten Hag is looking to end a five-year trophy drought for the club, who have not claimed any major silverware since Jose Mourinho led them to Europa League and EFL Cup glory in 2017.

Meanwhile, United's rivals City will visit Southampton after overcoming Liverpool in a thrilling fourth-round tie on Thursday, with Erling Haaland, Riyad Mahrez and Nathan Ake scoring in a 3-2 victory.

City have won the trophy in five of the past seven seasons and will equal Liverpool as the most successful club in EFL Cup history if they win their ninth title this term.

Newcastle United will host Leicester City in another all-Premier League tie after overcoming Eddie Howe's former club Bournemouth on Tuesday, while Wolves visit fellow strugglers Nottingham Forest. 

The ties will be played in the week commencing January 9, following the third round of the FA Cup. 

EFL Cup holders Liverpool will go up against fellow Premier League giants Manchester City in the fourth round of the competition.

Liverpool needed penalties to get past League One side Derby County on Wednesday, while City have already seen off top-flight rivals in Chelsea thanks to a 2-0 win.

But the two were paired together in Thursday's draw, meaning there will be at least one major casualty in the fourth round, with games due to take place just a few days after the World Cup final.

Manchester United booked their place in the draw with a thrilling 4-2 win over Aston Villa on Thursday, and they will be confident of a more straightforward route through the next round after drawing Championship side Burnley, now managed by City great Vincent Kompany.

Antonio Conte sympathised with his Tottenham players after they were eliminated from the EFL Cup by Nottingham Forest, citing tiredness in the run-up to the World Cup.

Despite playing 12 games since the beginning of October, Conte decided to make just four changes to the team that lost to Liverpool on Sunday, including starts for Eric Dier and Harry Kane, both ever presents this season.

The Italian blamed a lack of alternative options due to injuries as his team fell to a 2-0 loss at the City Ground thanks to goals from Renan Lodi and Jesse Lingard on Wednesday.

"The performance, I have to be honest, I think maybe tonight the energy was really poor for us" Spurs head coach Conte said.

"Don't forget that it was the 12th game in a really short period. The games that we played in the past, every game was really, really difficult and we lost a lot of mental energy and physical energy.

"I only say thanks to my players because there are players who are really tired. I have to manage the situation with [Pierre-Emile] Hojbjerg and [Rodrigo] Bentancur because they were tired.

"The same for Harry Kane. Until this morning we waited to see if he could start or not. He was the only [fit] striker so again, I can only say thanks to my players."

One positive for Spurs was that they did not go in behind at half-time, as they had done in their previous five games, but they also did not come out in the second half with much energy.

Lodi and Lingard's goals arrived in the first 12 minutes following the break, and even though Forest were reduced to 10 men when Orel Mangala was shown a second yellow card with 15 minutes remaining, Spurs could not find a response, having just two shots on target to the hosts' eight.

Debutant goalkeeper Fraser Forster made six saves to keep the score down, though Conte could at least call on the returning Richarlison from the bench, just a day after he was named in Brazil's World Cup squad.

"I have a group of players who are first men, and then good players," he added. "Another could be selfish to think to himself 'in a week I have to play the World Cup.'

"Instead, Harry Kane showed to be a really good man. Not only him though, the same for Bentancur, Perisic, and Dier is another player who has played a lot of games.

"We faced a situation that is really bad with the injuries. We arrived at the end in real difficulty. Now we have to try to rest and find energy."

Nottingham Forest produced an impressive performance to knock Tottenham out of the EFL Cup with a 2-0 win on Wednesday, even after finishing the game with 10 men.

Second-half strikes from Renan Lodi and Jesse Lingard gave the Premier League's bottom side victory, though nerves were heightened when Orel Mangala was sent off with 15 minutes remaining.

Spurs have made a habit of dramatic comebacks of late, and Antonio Conte named a strong side at the City Ground, including Harry Kane and only making four changes from the team defeated by Liverpool on Sunday.

But they could not rescue a result this time and have now lost consecutive matches ahead of meeting Leeds United in their final fixture before the World Cup.

A quiet first half saw Spurs debutant Fraser Forster called into action to deny Lingard on the rebound after a deflected clearance had struck the post, while at the other end Wayne Hennessey parried away a fierce effort from Matt Doherty.

Lingard stung the palms of Forster again with a shot from the edge of the box early in the second half, and just moments later the former Manchester United man found Lodi on the left, with the Brazil international cutting inside onto his right foot and bending an effort into the far corner.

It was 2-0 in the 57th minute when Forest struck on the counter down the right, with former Spurs man Serge Aurier putting in a cross for Sam Surridge to head back across goal, allowing Lingard to nod in his first goal for the club.

Kane made way on the hour for the returning Richarlison, but it made little difference as Forest claimed only their second victory in their last 12 games despite Mangala receiving a second yellow card for a foul on the Brazil World Cup star, who had a goal ruled out late on for offside.

Richarlison could make his Tottenham return in Wednesday's EFL Cup trip to Nottingham Forest after recovering from a calf injury, Spurs' assistant coach Cristian Stellini has confirmed.

Richarlison suffered the injury in Tottenham's 2-0 win over his former club Everton last month and subsequently said he was worried about missing Brazil's World Cup campaign.

However, the forward was included in Tite's 26-man squad for the Selecao's campaign in Qatar on Monday, and he could feature at the City Ground after returning to training this week.

"Richarlison started training with the team yesterday," Stellini said on Tuesday. "For us, it's great news.

"We've missed Richarlison, like we've missed [Dejan] Kulusevski and everyone we've missed in this last month.

"He's only just started to train with us, we can use him, but we have to be careful, and we work day by day to take the right decision."

Spurs have battled an injury crisis in recent weeks, only welcoming Kulusevski back from a hamstring injury on Sunday, while Son Heung-min sustained a fracture around his left eye last week.

Stellini warned of the need to manage players' minutes as the end of a congested pre-World Cup schedule nears, adding: "Antonio [Conte] will take the decision tomorrow for the squad.

"It's not only Richarlison or Kulusevski, but also, we've played 11 matches [since October 1] and many players maybe have a small problem or fatigue to recover [from].

"Kulusevski came back in the last match and has been an important player for us for a long time. We are really happy to use him again. 

"He's an important player, like all the players we have, because in this type of schedule, full of matches, all the players are important."

The Football Association has condemned the rise in terrace chants relating to the Hillsborough disaster, calling them "abhorrent" and stating they will continue to work with survivor groups.

An apparent increase in derogatory language referencing the 1989 disaster, when 97 Liverpool fans died in a stadium crush during an FA Cup semi-final at the Sheffield Wednesday ground, has been noted over the past year.

Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola condemned the behaviour of supporters during an incident last season, and did so again last month.

Manchester United also criticised fans over their actions in April, and now the FA have moved to clamp down further on the matter.

"We are very concerned about the rise of abhorrent chants in stadiums that are related to the Hillsborough disaster and other football related tragedies," read a statement.

"These chants are highly offensive and are deeply upsetting for the families, friends and communities who have been impacted by these devastating events, and we strongly condemn this behaviour.

"We support clubs and fans who try to stamp out this behaviour from our game.

"We also support the excellent work of the survivor groups who engage with stakeholders across football to help educate people about the damaging and lasting effects that these terrible chants can have."