2-2 v Stade Rennes - 16 September 2021 - Away

Tottenham manager Nuno Espirito Santo cursed his side's "terrible" luck with injuries as they lost more players in their Europa Conference League draw at Rennes.

Midfielder Lucas Moura and winger Steven Bergwijn limped off as Spurs came from behind against the Ligue 1 side.

"It's been terrible, I must be honest. Let's not hide behind anything," said Nuno.

The 47-year-old added: "After the Watford game, everything that has happened has not been very good for us.

"But this is football. And we know it's a moment we have to overcome."

In a game where the momentum swung throughout, Nuno's side opened the scoring when Moura's low cross was deflected into his own net by Rennes defender Loic Bade.

The hosts pushed for an equaliser after going behind and found a breakthrough when Flavien Tait played a quick one-two with Serhou Guirassy, before curling past Pierluigi Gollini from the edge of the box.

Rennes had the better chances in the second half and took the lead on 72 minutes through a close-range Gaetan Laborde finish.

Substitute Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg found the bottom corner from Matt Doherty's cross four minutes later to rescue a point for a much-changed Spurs side.

Nuno made eight changes from Saturday's 3-0 defeat at Crystal Palace with only Harry Kane, Moura and Japhet Tanganga retaining their places.

Spurs short of attacking options as injury list grows

Spurs travelled to Brittany without the injured Son Heung-min and Eric Dier, while Giovani lo Celso, Cristian Romero and Davinson Sanchez are still training in Croatia after defying Premier League guidelines and travelling to South America for World Cup qualifiers last week.

With Dutch side Vitesse and Slovenia's NS Mura joining Spurs and Rennes in Group G, the trip to Roazhon Park always looked like the trickiest test for Nuno's side in the group.

But Spurs made a bright start and showed promise in the early stages, though they needed a slice of luck to find an opening. A move started by a superb Tanguy Ndombele backheel ended up in the back of the net as Moura's cross deflected off Bade and in at the near post.

But as the hosts began to dominate chances and scored a goal either side of half-time, there were fresh injury fears for the Premier League side when Steven Bergwijn was forced off on the half hour mark after he appeared to aggravate the ankle injury which ruled him out of the defeat at Selhurst Park.

It went from bad to worse when Moura limped off early in the second half after a heavy challenge from Rennes' second goalscorer Tait, leaving Spurs short of attacking options against a Rennes side who looked hungry for an upset.

When asked if the pair would be fit for Sunday's Premier League game against Chelsea, Nuno said: "Painful, really bad. I cannot tell you. They are being taken care of by the medical department. But it's been tough."

On a night when Kane broke the record for the most European appearances in Tottenham's history, the Spurs captain was restricted to one shot on target and was replaced by Emerson 10 minutes into the second half.

With Chelsea, Wolves and Arsenal still to come in the league this month, it is clear Nuno's side have much to improve on as they look for a first win in three games after their impressive unbeaten start to the season.