Roberto De Zerbi Faces Injury Setback with James Maddison

Roberto De Zerbi has been forced to deal with an early setback in his Tottenham reign, confirming that James Maddison has picked up a fresh injury just as he was edging back towards full fitness.

The midfielder’s summer was already about caution and careful steps. After missing most of last season following surgery on a ruptured anterior cruciate ligament suffered in pre-season, Spurs handled his return with extreme care, limiting his minutes and refusing to gamble during the warm-up games.

Even so, Maddison made it back in time for the opening weekend of the Premier League. De Zerbi turned to him in damage-limitation mode on Saturday, sending him on for Mikey Moore for the final 22 minutes of a grim 3-0 defeat at Brentford.

Those minutes brought more bad news. Maddison landed awkwardly on his shoulder during that brief cameo and was sent for assessment. Speaking ahead of Wednesday night’s Carabao Cup second-round tie at home to Charlton, De Zerbi confirmed the setback but tried to keep the temperature down around it.

“Maddison suffered a small injury in his shoulder,” he said, describing the issue as minor.

The update keeps Maddison’s situation delicately poised: not a major crisis, but another frustrating pause for a player trying to re-establish rhythm after a lost year.

De Zerbi’s fitness bulletin did not stop there. Mohammed Kudus, the Ghana forward signed to add punch and unpredictability to Spurs’ attack, will not feature against Charlton either. He remains “not yet ready” as he continues his recovery from a long-term quad injury that has ruled him out since early January.

There was at least some relief for Spurs supporters. New captain Micky van de Ven will be on the bench, a significant boost to a defence that struggled badly at Brentford. The Dutch centre-back did not play a single minute in pre-season after his World Cup campaign with the Netherlands and then missed the league opener with a minor, unspecified issue, but he is now available to be involved.

Vice-captain Pedro Porro is in the same boat. The right-back, who also skipped pre-season and the Brentford defeat as he worked his way back from exertions during Spain’s World Cup-winning run in North America, is set for a place among the substitutes on Wednesday.

There could be a very different kind of debut to lift the mood. Savio is in line to make his first Tottenham appearance after completing his £85million move from Manchester City on Tuesday, a marquee arrival dropped straight into a squad that badly needs a spark.

Up front, Dominic Solanke is expected to lead the line from the start, while highly rated teenager Luca Williams-Barnett will be named on the bench, offering a glimpse of the club’s next generation on a night when De Zerbi has to juggle recovery, rotation and the demand for a response.