Tottenham Faces Injury Crisis Ahead of Brentford Clash
Tottenham’s season starts with a London derby and a headache. A big one.
Roberto De Zerbi takes his new-look Spurs to Brentford on Saturday evening with optimism about the project, but a squad list that has been ripped apart by injury. Up to 13 players could miss out, and most of them belong to him.
De Zerbi’s rebuild hits reality
Tottenham come into the new Premier League campaign trying to drag themselves away from the gloom of back-to-back 17th-place finishes. The Italian has spent the summer reshaping the squad, pushing through a flurry of transfers to jolt the club back to life.
The plan is clear. The availability isn’t.
On Friday, De Zerbi laid out the scale of the problem. Two key defenders are already out of the picture.
“No, Micky is not on the list for tomorrow, like Pedro Porro and the other players are all inside,” he said. “James Maddison is inside, Dominic Solanke is inside, Udogie is inside, Mateus Fernandes is inside.
“Pape Sarr, no, because he felt pain two days in his hamstring. Nothing important, but we don’t take risk with him and especially in this moment.”
So Porro and Micky van de Ven are ruled out. Sarr joins them on the sidelines. The rest? In, but not necessarily at full tilt.
Van de Ven waits, others race the clock
Van de Ven had stepped back into training with the main group, a rare sliver of good news in a difficult week. De Zerbi, though, is refusing to gamble.
“Today he worked with us, with the group and he is going very well,” the Spurs head coach said. “He suffered a problem during the pre-season of Australia, I don’t know if it was the flight, but not a big problem.
“We have Senesi, we have Ben Davies and in the right condition to play the game tomorrow.”
That line says plenty. Van de Ven is progressing, but Senesi and Ben Davies are the ones De Zerbi trusts to be ready from the first whistle.
How much Maddison, Solanke, Destiny Udogie and Mateus Fernandes can give in west London is another question entirely. All are “inside” the squad, all are important, and all are being pushed towards fitness as the clock ticks down.
Star quality stuck in the treatment room
The short-term doubts sit on top of a longer-term injury cloud. Dejan Kulusevski, Wilson Odobert, Xavi Simons and Mohammed Kudus remain out, stripping Spurs of creativity and cutting edge just as the season begins.
“I think it's important also the management of the players, when the players have some problem, we have to stay calm, don't take risks,” De Zerbi said.
“We have Kulusevski, we have Odobert, we have Xavi Simons, injuries. Kudu is almost ready, that is a big point for us, but these three players are top players for us, and we're looking forward to watch them on the pitch.”
Kudus being “almost ready” offers a glimmer of hope. The rest is a reminder of what Tottenham are missing on opening day: a trio of top-tier attacking talents who were meant to define this new era, watching from the stands instead.
Brentford’s problems are lighter – but still there
Across the city, Brentford’s issues feel manageable by comparison.
Keith Andrews will be without Antoni Milambo and Sepp van den Berg, but the tone around the Bees is more about careful planning than crisis management. Milambo is still working his way back from an ACL injury, though the signs are encouraging.
“Antoni is a few weeks behind with the [ACL] injury,” Andrews said. “It’s not an exact science, naturally, but he’s had a really positive couple of weeks. He’s been training with the group for a number of weeks - sometimes modified, sometimes full training. He’s making really good strides.”
Van den Berg, meanwhile, has been held back by a groin problem.
“We’ve had to manage that in a certain way,” Andrews explained. “He needs a little bit more rest, unfortunately. He’s had a disjointed pre-season - it hasn’t flowed as well as we’d have liked - so we’re going to have to look after him in the short term. He’ll miss the first few weeks of the season.”
Two absentees, both monitored and managed. Against a side patched together and pushed to the limit, that difference could matter.
Tottenham arrive at Brentford desperate to prove last season’s struggles belong to the past. With so many key names either out or only just clinging to fitness, we’re about to find out how quickly De Zerbi’s revolution can withstand its first real test.
