Tottenham Faces Injury Crisis Ahead of Carabao Cup Clash with Liverpool
Tottenham’s build‑up to their Carabao Cup trip to Liverpool has been jolted by injuries, selection stand-offs and a striker who, in the manager’s eyes, has already walked away.
Tonali and Porro ruled out, Udogie back
Sandro Tonali and Pedro Porro will both miss the tie, leaving Roberto De Zerbi without two key pieces of his spine.
Porro is still battling the muscular problem that kept him out of the goalless draw with Everton. Tonali joined him on the treatment table after taking a knock in that same match, adding another unwanted headache before a high‑intensity night at Anfield.
There is at least one welcome sight for De Zerbi. Destiny Udogie is set to return to the matchday squad after missing the Everton game. The Italy international’s comeback offers balance and energy on the left, at a time when Porro’s usual drive from the opposite flank will be missing.
For a team still hunting their first Premier League goal of the season, losing attacking thrust from full-back is the last thing they needed.
Richarlison frozen out despite cup lifeline
The injuries, though, were quickly overshadowed by the ongoing saga around Richarlison.
Despite being omitted from Tottenham’s 25-man Premier League squad, the Brazilian forward remained eligible for the Carabao Cup, which operates under different registration rules. On paper, Anfield could have been his route back into the fold.
De Zerbi shut that door.
Asked directly whether the former Everton forward might feature against Liverpool, the Italian did not dance around the issue. “You already know everything,” he told reporters. “Nothing changed for the Carabao Cup or Premier League. The situation is the same. I can’t say anything more because it’s not my job. I can answer about the results, the players in the squad, the offensive space, the defensive space, but not for the other things.”
The message was clear: as far as the head coach is concerned, Richarlison is out of the picture.
Contract offer rejected, relationship broken
De Zerbi then pulled back the curtain on how the rift unfolded. He revealed that he had tried to keep Richarlison at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium at the start of the summer.
“What I’ve done, at the beginning of this season, was to speak with him, and to propose an extension of the contract,” he explained. “If he said no thank you, I have finished my job.”
The club moved to secure him. The player declined. From De Zerbi’s perspective, that was the end of the discussion.
Richarlison’s stance has significant consequences on the pitch. He has been a constant menace to Liverpool in the past, scoring four times in seven appearances against the Reds in a Spurs shirt. That knack for unsettling Anfield will not be available to a Tottenham side still trying to shake off their early-season bluntness.
“I know what happened in the last 45 days”
De Zerbi stressed that this is not a personal feud, but a deeper issue between Richarlison and the club hierarchy.
“I said in the last press conference, I know what happened in the last 45 days. It’s not right if I explained,” he said, hinting at serious tension behind the scenes without lifting the lid. “It’s not my behaviour, it is the relationship and the problem is with [between] the player and the club. And I stay inside of the club. It’s coach and club together because at the start of this season, I spoke with him many times to convince him to stay and he didn’t want to.”
Richarlison started the league opener at Brentford, but was then told he could leave. A return to Everton did not materialise, links to Trabzonspor faded, and he turned down a move to Vasco da Gama on Friday. Every path out has either collapsed or been rejected, yet the bridge back into De Zerbi’s plans looks just as firmly shut.
No more “praying” for a U-turn
For De Zerbi, there will be no last-minute charm offensive.
Ultimately, he made it plain that he will not plead with any player to represent Tottenham if their commitment is elsewhere. “I can’t go every day to pray for him to stay,” he concluded.
So Tottenham head to Anfield without Tonali, without Porro and without the one forward who has so often relished this particular stage. The question now is simple: who steps up in a stadium where Richarlison used to thrive?
