Richarlison suffered a calf injury in Spurs' 2-0 victory over his former team Everton and was taken off in the 52nd minute before later being seen on crutches, causing concern he could face a race against time to be fit for Brazil's World Cup opener against Serbia on 25 November.

In a tearful interview after the game, Richarlison said: "It's kind of hard to say because it's close to the realisation of my dream."

But when questioned over Richarlison potentially missing the FIFA World Cup, Conte had an optimistic message.

"The injury of Richarlison, he's [having] a scan and then we will see how long he needs to recover," Conte said. "But for sure against United, he's not available.

"I can confirm that the player is not risking not playing the World Cup, absolutely."

Conte was unsure whether Richarlison's fellow forward Dejan Kulusevski would be fit for Thursday's game at Old Trafford, after the Sweden international missed the Everton match with a hamstring injury.

"Kulusevski is working, we'll see," Conte said. "We have to go day by day with him.

"The medical department are working a lot to try to recover him, but we don't know about the game against United."