Tottenham Injury Update: Key Players Nearing Return

Tottenham’s season has barely started and already feels like it’s on the back foot. A 3-0 beating at Brentford was a brutal jolt for a club that spent big and talked bold over the summer, only for Roberto De Zerbi to walk into his first Premier League weekend and declare his players simply aren’t fit enough yet.

Seven first‑teamers were missing at the Gtech Community Stadium. The bench looked light, the performance even lighter. Now Spurs head into a Carabao Cup tie against Charlton on Wednesday and then their first home league game against Newcastle with one eye on the treatment room and the other on the calendar.

This week, at least, offers the promise of some relief.

Van de Ven and Porro closing in

Micky van de Ven has already been handed the armband, the new captain asked to lead a new era. Instead, he spent the opening day watching from the sidelines.

The centre-back picked up a problem during pre-season in Australia and did not play a single minute before the campaign began. De Zerbi admitted the issue was not huge but enough to derail his preparations and leave him chasing sharpness.

“He worked with the group [on Friday], he's going very well,” the head coach said last week. “He suffered a problem during the pre-season in Australia, I don't know, the flight, I don't know, something, not a big problem, but not right to work.”

Spurs hope that work now pays off. Van de Ven is being lined up for a return when Newcastle visit north London on August 29, a significant boost for a back line that looked fragile at Brentford.

Alongside him, vice-captain Pedro Porro is on a similar path. The right-back was also absent at Brentford and, like Van de Ven, did not feature in pre-season. His late return from Spain’s World Cup win left him short of preparation and out of the frame for the opener.

Porro has been back in training and is building his fitness after three weeks off. The target is the same: Newcastle at home on August 29. If both make it, Spurs suddenly look far more like the side De Zerbi imagined on the training pitch.

Kudus “almost ready” after long lay-off

The biggest name edging back is Mohammed Kudus. He has not played since January, his year wrecked by a quad injury that required surgery.

De Zerbi’s tone changed when he spoke about the Ghanaian last week. “Kudus is almost ready, that is a big point for us,” he said, underlining just how much creativity and chaos the forward can bring to a team that looked flat in the final third at Brentford.

Kudus briefly returned to Ghana last week following a family bereavement but is back in training and nearing a return. De Zerbi stressed the need for caution.

“It's important also the management of the players, when the players have some problem, we have to stay calm, don't take risks.”

Spurs are eyeing the trip to Nottingham Forest on September 5 as a realistic comeback date. If that holds, De Zerbi could have a major attacking weapon back in time for a crucial early run of fixtures.

Maddison a fresh concern

Not all the news is positive. James Maddison, still working towards full fitness himself, is now an injury doubt for Wednesday night’s Carabao Cup tie with Charlton.

The midfielder came off the bench at Brentford but could not change the flow of a game already slipping away. Worse, he landed awkwardly on his shoulder during the defeat and is now being assessed.

For a player trying to build rhythm after a disrupted period, any knock is a setback. De Zerbi is expected to give a clearer update in his pre‑match press conference on Tuesday, but for now Maddison’s likely target is also Newcastle at home on August 29.

Sarr setback but return in sight

Pape Matar Sarr’s absence at Brentford was another blow to De Zerbi’s midfield options. The Senegal international, who has attracted transfer interest, picked up a hamstring issue late last week and was ruled out of the opener.

Sarr had played during pre-season, only to see that work undermined by what the club consider a minor problem. De Zerbi explained: “He felt pain in his hamstring two days ago. Nothing important, but we don’t take risks with him and especially in this moment."

That caution should mean a relatively swift return. Spurs are aiming to have Sarr available for the Newcastle clash on August 29, which would restore some balance and energy in the middle of the pitch.

Kulusevski’s long road back

Dejan Kulusevski’s story is a harsher one. It has been almost 18 months since the Swede last played for Spurs, his career stalled by a serious knee injury that has required patience from everyone around him.

He is back on the grass now, working with an individual coach rather than the main group, and edging through the slow, lonely stages of rehab that never make the headlines but define careers.

“He's working, not with the group but with the individual coach,” De Zerbi said. “I'm observing him a lot, because first of all, he suffers too much, and as a human situation, it's been tough for him, and every one of us we are close with him for this period.

“Then he's a different player, he's a special player, if he's fit and he's available, he's a different player, like Xavi Simons."

There is no firm return date. Only the hope that the first half of the season will finally bring him back into the fold.

Long-term absentees: Simons and Odobert

Xavi Simons, the player De Zerbi referenced, is even further away. The Dutch star suffered an anterior cruciate ligament injury at the end of last season and has been ruled out for around nine months.

He was at Brentford on Saturday, watching from the stands, offering support but unable to influence anything on the pitch. Spurs do not expect him back until early 2027.

Wilson Odobert, who suffered the same ACL injury a few months before Simons, is on a slightly shorter timeline. The winger is targeting a return before the end of 2026, another long-haul rehab that demands resilience as much as talent.

For now, Tottenham must live in the short term. Charlton in the cup. Newcastle under the lights. A bruised squad clinging to the prospect that, by the end of this month, Van de Ven, Porro, Sarr and perhaps Maddison will be back on the pitch rather than in the medical reports.

If that lift doesn’t arrive, how long can De Zerbi keep insisting this is only about fitness, and not something deeper?