Spurs Injury List: Creativity Crisis Deepens

Tottenham finally have a Premier League point on the board, but the 0-0 at Nottingham Forest underlined a harsher truth: this team is still waiting to spark.

Roberto De Zerbi’s side have opened the season with a 3-0 defeat to Brentford, a 2-0 loss to Newcastle and now a goalless stalemate at the City Ground. Three games, no goals. For a club that rebuilt itself around attacking flair, that statistic stings.

On Saturday, the pattern was familiar. Spurs had the ball, they had territory, but they lacked incision. With both of De Zerbi’s No10s absent, Conor Gallagher and Mateus Fernandes toiled between the lines, never quite finding the pass or the pocket of space to open Forest up. The structure was there. The spark was not.

There is, at least, some light on the horizon.

Maddison steps up his return

James Maddison remains sidelined after damaging his shoulder against Brentford on the opening day, another blow in a stop-start 12 months that already included a serious ACL injury last year.

He came off the bench at the Gtech Community Stadium as he tried to build sharpness, but he did not travel to Forest. The mood around his recovery has shifted, though. Maddison has now rejoined full team training, a crucial step for a player who gives this Spurs side the craft they are crying out for.

The internal hope is that he will be ready to feature when Everton visit north London on September 12, 2026. If he makes it, Spurs instantly regain their most natural playmaker. If he doesn’t, the wait for a first league goal could drag on.

Kulusevski close, but not quite there

Dejan Kulusevski is back on the grass and back with the group, but Spurs are handling him with extreme care.

The Swede is recovering from a serious patella injury that has already cost him almost 18 months of football. He had stepped up to start training with the squad at the beginning of last week, only for a minor issue to halt his progress in the final two days before the Forest trip.

De Zerbi explained that the winger suffered a “small, small problem” that forced him to stop training, yet he insisted the overall trajectory remains positive and praised the club’s medical staff. The message is clear: no shortcuts, no risks.

There is, however, still no firm date on when Kulusevski will actually pull on a Spurs shirt again. For a team starved of invention in the final third, that uncertainty lingers.

Long road back for Xavi Simons

If Spurs miss Maddison and Kulusevski, they ache for Xavi Simons.

The Dutch playmaker tore his ACL against Wolves in April last season and has been ruled out for the remainder of this calendar year. His absence has ripped a hole straight through the No10 department, leaving De Zerbi to improvise in the most important creative zone on the pitch.

Simons has at least been visible around the squad in a supporting role, a small but significant presence for a young group trying to ride out a difficult start. On the pitch, though, Spurs will have to wait. His projected return is not until early 2027.

Odobert edging ahead in ACL race

Wilson Odobert knows the same rehab grind. The French winger also suffered an ACL tear last term, yet his recovery is slightly further along than Simons’s.

Spurs believe he has a realistic chance of featuring again before the turn of the year, with a potential return pencilled in for late 2026. For a side short of wide threat and one‑v‑one dribbling, his comeback could quietly transform De Zerbi’s options from the bench.

Cautious steps, urgent need

At Forest, Savio and Destiny Udogie both continued their careful return to full match fitness, each withdrawn around the hour mark. There is no fresh injury concern over either, just a manager refusing to gamble with players he expects to lean on heavily across a long season.

The caution makes sense. The timing does not feel kind. Spurs are three games in, goalless, and without their key creators. Maddison edging closer, Kulusevski hovering on the brink, Odobert targeting the end of the year, Simons set for 2027 — the cavalry is coming.

The question is simple: can Tottenham keep their season alive long enough for those playmakers to change it?