Liverpool injury blow has handed Tottenham star huge incentive Roberto De Zerbi may benefit from

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One of Roberto De Zerbi's men has an added incentive in the coming weeks as well as looking to fire Tottenham away from relegation

In case the threat of Tottenham being relegated was not enough to fire up Randal Kolo Muani then the Frenchman has an increased World Cup incentive after the injury to Liverpool striker Hugo Ekitike.

Kolo Muani is on loan this season from PSG and endured a mixed campaign with struggling Spurs. The 27-year-old has just one Premier League goal and one assist in 24 appearances but impressed in the Champions League with four goals and two assists in nine matches in that competition.

Thomas Frank, Igor Tudor and now Roberto De Zerbi have all looked to use the versatile France international this season and he earned a recall to Didier Deschamps' expanded international squad last month after having to pull out of the previous squad in November with his jaw injury.

Kolo Muani, who has made 32 appearances for France and scored nine goals for his country, was unused in the first friendly against Brazil last month but got 27 minutes off the bench in the following game against Colombia.

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Ekitike's torn Achilles injury, suffered in the Champions League defeat to Kolo Muani's parent club PSG, means he will miss not only this summer's World Cup in the USA, Canada and Mexico but also likely the remainder of this year.

The Liverpool striker's enforced absence could open the door for Kolo Muani to head to the World Cup if he state his claim by helping Tottenham turn things around in the weeks ahead.

Deschamps is known to be an admirer of the player and said back in November before Kolo Muani had to withdraw from that squad: "I have to make some choices, and from the moment Randal is fit… He’s part of this group for a while now.

"He hasn’t always been at his most clinical, but his work rate and activity have always been high, and he has the ability to play in several positions."

Another Tottenham attacker, Mathys Tel, a key man for France's U21s, might also be hoping that he can catch Deschamps' eye in the final weeks of the campaign and push his claims to be a surprise inclusion in the World Cup squad.

Deschamps said of Ekitike: "Hugo suffered a serious injury on Tuesday evening against PSG. The severity of his injury will unfortunately prevent him from finishing the season with Liverpool and participating in the World Cup. Hugo is one of the dozen young players who have made their debuts with the national team in recent months.

"He had perfectly integrated into the group, both on the pitch and off it. This injury is a huge blow for him, of course, but also for the France team. His disappointment is immense. Hugo will regain his top form, I'm convinced of it. But I wanted to express all my support to him, as well as that of the entire staff. We know he'll be fully behind the France team, and we're all thinking of him very strongly."