Tottenham come into the new Premier League season with a familiar problem.
Injuries - and lots of them - for Roberto De Zerbi to have navigate.
Spurs defeated Hoffenheim in their last pre-season friendly (in front of fans) on Saturday, before a 2-2 draw with the same opponents behind closed doors at Hotspur Way on Sunday.
There were fears that new signing Mateus Fernandes, landed from West Ham for £85million, would not be fit to start the new campaign, but he played the full 90 minutes on Sunday alongside Rodrigo Bentancur in midfield, while James Maddison, on the comeback trail from ACL surgery, was fielded as a false nine, and he played the first half.
There were also appearances for Kevin Danso, Ben Davies and Souza in defence, while Pape Matar Sarr was given a run out as the No10.
On Saturday, it was the players that had had more of a pre-season, with Mathys Tel starring with two assists, and Mikey Moore notched two goals before a proposed loan move away.
£100m man Sandro Tonali came through the match unscathed, and so too did new defenders Jan Paul van Hecke, Marcos Senesi and Andy Robertson.
With that said, here is all the latest Tottenham injury news and potential return dates...
Xavi Simons
Dutch playmaker Simons tore his ACL against Wolves back in April and was ruled out for a year with what is considered to be the worst injury in football.
The attacking midfielder returned to speak to fans ahead of the game against Hoffenheim on Saturday, but he will not feature on the pitch again until at least January next year.
Potential return date: January 2027
Mohammed Kudus
Fans are getting excited after Spurs released social media clips of Kudus striking balls and training with his team-mates after a lenghty lay-off with what has proved to be a tricky quad tendon injury.
The Ghanaian, signed from West Ham in 2025, suffered the problem against Manchester City back in January and has not played for the club since.
He has not featured in pre-season, but it is hoped that the forward will return at some point this month or next.
Kudus had been in line fora return to action in April when De Zerbi took charge, but despite rejoining team training, he suffered a setback.
Now, however, he could be in line for some minutes in the coming weeks, with the Spurs boss saying on the club’s tour of Australia a fortnight ago: "Kudus is very close, I think.
“When we come back to London, he will be available to start to work with us. It is a great thing for us because Kudus is another important player."
Potential return date: August 26 vs Charlton (H)
Wilson Odobert
Odobert is in the same boat as Simons, having suffered an ACL injury back in February against Newcastle.
He has since been out for six months, and the Frenchman is not expected back yet for another six months.
Last week, he had posted a photo on social media of his boots on, but he remains a long way off a comeback to the first-team fold.
Potential return date: January 2027
Dejan Kulusevski
Kulusevski has not played for the north Londoners for 15 months after a hugely complex patella injury.
The Swede had been eyeing a return with his country at the World Cup, but ultimately Graham Potter did not risk the forward’s fitness.
Fans again were excited to see him partaking in some shooting drills on the training pitch - alongside Kudus - with some indication that a return could be on the horizon, but he has not featured in any of the pre-season games so far.
When De Zerbi was asked about the 26-year-old Down Under, he said: "Kulusevski [when he] is fit and right, he's one of the best players we have in the squad. We have to see in the next couple of weeks
“I wouldn't like to put too much pressure on him to accelerate the process of rehab but I hope he can be available as early as possible. But after one season, one complete season, without games, we have to analyse better and better and don't take risks for sure. "
Potential return date: Late 2026
Micky van de Ven
There are concerns over Van de Ven’s fitness after the central defender’s absence from all Spurs’ pre-season friendlies so far.
He arrived late from World Cup duty with the Netherlands, but he has since missed the games against Getafe and Hoffenheim since his comeback to his club.
The Dutchman did not train with his team-mates Down Under on the tour, and nor was he pictured in training gear when players welcomed World Cup winner Pedro Porro back to Hotspur Way last week.
There has been no indication or confirmation that he is struggling with injury, with De Zerbi saying after the win over Sydney FC a couple of weeks ago: "Danso, Van de Ven, Solanke, JP van Hecke... were not yet ready to play without risk. Maybe some of them can play the next game against Chelsea, maybe not [from] the beginning."
Van de Ven did indeed not play against Chelsea, and continues to be out of action as the new season comes into view.
Potential return date: August 22 vs Brentford (A)
Destiny Udogie
The Italian has also not featured at all in this pre-season campaign under De Zerbi.
The left-back has been plagued by injury in his entire Spurs career, and his manager revealed that the defender had suffered a minor niggle in the lead-up to the friendlies.
However, he has since not played a single minute, and there appears to be no video evidence of him training with his team-mates either.
Potential return date: August 26 vs Charlton (A)
Dominic Solanke
Solanke is another that just has not been able to have a proper break from setbacks.
The striker was dogged by a recurring ankle problem last season, and he has played just two matches in this pre-season run.
His last minutes came against Chelsea in Australia, and he did not feature in either match against Hoffenheim at the weekend.
On the tour, he said: "I feel good. It was a very tough year last year for me. I missed pretty much the majority of the season with injuries. I'm focused on staying fit this year and hopefully I can do that. I want to have a much better year this year. I'm feeling good and hopefully I can stay fit and have a great year."
Potential return date: August 26 vs Charlton (H)
