Postecoglou boost with at least one Tottenham star to return early ...

Ange Postecoglou knows that he will have at least one of his currently absent international stars back at Tottenham Hotspur before the Premier League game against Brighton.

Since the beginning of this month, the Spurs boss has been without captain Son Heung-min, who has been playing for South Korea at the Asian Cup, and Yves Bissouma and Pape Matar Sarr, who have been representing Mali and Senegal respectively at the Africa Cup of Nations.

Son's South Korea take on Saudi Arabia on Tuesday in the Asian Cup round of 16, with Jurgen Klinsmann's team having finished second in Group E with two draws and one win. Their Saudi opponents finished top of Group F with two victories and one draw.

A handy - for Tottenham - quirk of the Africa Cup of Nations draw means that Postecoglou knows he will have at least one of Bissouma or Sarr available for selection back at Spurs soon regardless of whether they win their next match in the competition or not.

Sarr and Senegal face the hosts Ivory Coast in the round of 16 on Monday with Bissouma's Mali in action against Burkina Faso on Tuesday. However, if they both win their round of 16 matches then Mali and Senegal would meet the quarter-finals on Saturday February 3.

So whichever of the two midfielders ends up on the losing side will be heading home after that game, which is the same day as Spurs travel to Everton in the Premier League. On paper, Senegal, the current Africa Cup of Nations holders, would be the favourites, having won all three of their group stage matches, while Mali progressed with one win and two draws. Both have to overcome their round of 16 opponents first either way.

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Whoever returns from the competition in the Ivory Coast could then be in contention for Spurs' Premier League match against Brighton at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on February 10.

The north London club, who exited the FA Cup at the hands of holders Manchester City on Friday night, now have a good run of league games ahead with four of their next five matches to be played at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, as the game at Chelsea is set to be moved because of Mauricio Pochettino's side's involvement in the Carabao Cup final.

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