Tottenham Faces Injury Crisis Ahead of Brentford Clash
Tottenham head back into Premier League combat on Saturday evening with a familiar problem and a very unfamiliar dugout. Roberto De Zerbi’s first league game in charge comes with an injury list that already feels like a season in itself.
The trip across London to Brentford was supposed to mark a fresh start after back-to-back 17th-place finishes. A reset. A new voice. A summer of change has delivered that, with the Italian overseeing a major overhaul of the squad. But the team sheet he wanted for opening night is not the one he will get.
De Zerbi’s first big headache
Up to 13 players could be missing from the clash with the Bees, and the bulk of that damage sits squarely in the Tottenham dressing room. De Zerbi did not sugar-coat it when he faced the media on Friday.
“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.”
Two definite absentees from the back line, then: Micky van de Ven and Pedro Porro. One key midfielder out in Pape Sarr. And a clutch of important names – Maddison, Solanke, Destiny Udogie, Mateus Fernandes – technically available but still racing the clock on sharpness and condition.
Van de Ven’s case underlines De Zerbi’s stance. The Dutch defender has rejoined group training, but the new head coach has drawn a hard line on risk.
“Today he worked with us, with the group and he is going very well,” De Zerbi 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.”
The message is clear: this is a long season, and De Zerbi will not gamble on bodies in August.
Big names stuck on the sidelines
That caution stretches beyond Van de Ven and Sarr. Dejan Kulusevski, Wilson Odobert, Xavi Simons and Mohammed Kudus are all long-term absentees and will play no part at Brentford.
“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 explained.
“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.”
For a side trying to drag itself away from the bottom end of the table, that’s a serious chunk of creativity and cutting edge missing. The new era starts with a patched-up XI and a bench that may feature more hope than proven match fitness.
Yet there is a flip side. Early chances for others. A test of the depth De Zerbi and the club have worked to build across a hectic summer window.
Brentford’s issues far lighter
On the opposite bench, Keith Andrews has problems of his own, but nothing like the scale facing De Zerbi.
Brentford will be without Antoni Milambo and Sepp van den Berg. Milambo is still on the comeback trail from an ACL injury, though his recovery is moving in the right direction.
“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 is sidelined by a groin issue that has disrupted his pre-season.
“We’ve had to manage that in a certain way,” Andrews added. “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.”
So while Brentford juggle two absences, Tottenham juggle almost an entire team’s worth of concerns.
The contrast is stark. De Zerbi’s rebuild begins under strain, away from home, with key players either out or short. The question now is simple: can this new-look Spurs side, already stretched, show enough resilience to stop another season drifting towards the wrong end of the table before it has even begun?
