Remember last season when Tottenham Hotspur, under Ange Postecoglou, had twelve players unavailable due to injury? It was a crisis! Ange, it was said, was deliberately hurting his players, either by his intense training regimen and insane offensive tactics, or by sneaking up behind them and whapping them on the knee with a cricket bat, one of those. But it was definitely a THING.
Don’t look now, but it’s a new season and Tottenham Hotspur currently have twelve players unavailable to them due to injury. Some of them are more severe than others, of course, and Tottenham currently have their top three central defenders healthy and playing (as opposed to playing Ben Davies and a teenage midfielder out of position) so it FEELS a little different than last season. But make no mistake, twelve players out is a LOT of players out. Spurs currently are the most injured team in the Premier League… again.
So I thought it might be helpful to give a little update post on which players are currently unavailable, what we know, and when they might be back in action… maybe.
James Maddison
Injury — ACL (surgery). Out — indefinitely, possibly entirety of season
‘We can confirm that James will undergo surgery for a ruptured Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL) in his right knee. His surgery will take place in the coming days, and following that, James will then begin his rehabilitation with our medical team.’
— Tottenham Hotspur statement
Let’s start with the most obvious absence. Maddison’s injury while on Spurs’ preseason tour was and continues to be the most impactful on Spurs’ season. It shifted their entire summer transfer plan, in ways that are still being felt because they didn’t actually SOLVE the midfield in Madders’ absence. But if Maddison doesn’t get hurt maybe we don’t get Xavi Simons? Swings and roundabouts, maybe. Anyway, he won’t be back until April at the earliest.
Dejan Kulusevski
Injury — ACL (surgery). Out — December
‘Deki is still not on the grass. We’re working very hard to get him fit as quickly as possible.’
— Thomas Frank, October 31, 2025
The OTHER major knee injury in Tottenham’s squad, Deki has been out since the end of last season which is bad, but he’s probably going to be the first player back among the long-term injured players, which is good. Tentative plan is to have him back by the end of November, but knowing Frank he’ll (correctly) work him back in slowly, starting with cameos and late subs.
Dominic Solanke
Injury — ankle (surgery). Out — late November (?)
‘We want him back and no setbacks. We’re very aware of doing it in the right way. It is going in the right way, but he won’t be back before the international break.’
— Thomas Frank, October 31, 2025
Solanke picked up an ankle injury very early into the season and has been out since, eventually requiring “minor” surgery (that pretty much everyone agrees wasn’t exactly “minor”). He’s basically been going through Xeno’s Return Date whereby the exact point of his eventual return to the squad continues to be extended through increasingly shorter time spans without him actually returning at all. Incredibly frustrating, for him most of all.
Ben Davies
Injury — hamstring. Out — indefinitely
“[He] could miss weeks.”
— Thomas Frank, October 21, 2025
We have yet to see Ben Davies play, which isn’t great considering he’s 32 and Tottenham extended his contract by an extra year to keep him around as an in-house “glue guy” defender. Frank briefly addressed his absence last month and we haven’t heard anything about him since.
Radu Dragusin
Injury — ACL (surgery). Out — late November
‘He’s fully integrated into training now. An ACL [injury] is not tricky, but it’s such a big injury, because you’re out for nine months, so you need to build strength in the knee. He is definitely getting closer to being involved. I think we plan to play him in a friendly [during the Nov break], as I understand it.’
— Thomas Frank, October 28, 2025
It’s been long enough that I no longer remember when exactly Radu picked up his knee injury. I know it was last season sometime, and I know it required surgery (as Radu showed off his gnarly scar on James Maddison’s recovery video). Thankfully, Radu looks like he’ll be eased back in by the end of the month, and his return could provide some tactical flexibility, possibly allowing Micky van de Ven to spell Destiny Udogie at LB on occasion. Shame Radu’s not a central midfielder who can pass.
Yves Bissouma
Injury — Ankle. Out — late November (?)
‘Biss, unfortunately, had a situation with the national team, I think everyone saw that, so he got a ligament injury to his ankle that will keep him out for weeks.’
— Thomas Frank, October 17, 2025
Bissouma has been in Frank’s doghouse for repeatedly arriving late to training, and then picked up an ankle injury while playing for Ghana last month. We haven’t really gotten a recent update on his status, but he’d certainly be useful to have at our disposal as we head into a tricky end of November and early December.
Archie Gray
Injury — calf. Out — December
‘He would have started [vs. Everton]. He got a contact to the calf in Monaco and probably in there or whatever, also picked up a calf strain.’
— Thomas Frank, October 29, 2025
Poor Archie. He was all set for a redemption arc as the Midfield Passer Who Was Promised only for him to pick up a calf injury in the Champions League in the Principality on October 22. Early reports said he’d be out for “over a month” which puts a late November return in doubt, but hopefully he’ll be fit for the festive fixtures.
Kota Takai
Injury — plantar fasciitis/thigh. Out — ???
‘Kota is a quad problem. He’s about to be training, soon.’
—Thomas Frank, October 31, 2025
I have no idea about Kota Takai, as we haven’t seen him play a single minute since joining from Kawasaki Frontale this summer. He picked up a nasty bout of plantar fasciitis just after arriving, and anyone who has had that injury knows it’s painful, can take a long time to heal, and there’s really not much you can do about it. But he’s also had a thigh problem from training, which is what he’s currently rehabbing. When will he return? The real question is whether we’ll see him at all. He’s Spurs’ fourth CB and I doubt we’d have seen much of him even if he were healthy. Anyway, he’s officially part of On The Grass FC.
Lucas Bergvall
Injury — concussion. Out — after international break
‘Lucas got a concussion, which was probably pretty obvious from the footage. Big praise to the medical team, because it’s a tricky situation to be in when it’s two minutes into a game. So, well done to them because it’s the player’s health that’s the most important thing.’
— Thomas Frank, November 3, 2025
Lucas took a ball to the face inside two minutes against Chelsea and looked wobbly and dazed immediately afterwards. His substitution was the correct decision, though we sure could’ve used him in the past few games. He’s been out under league concussion protocol, but there’s no reason to think he won’t be available for the North London Derby (and/or the Champions League match at PSG).
Mohammed Kudus
Injury — knock. Out — after international break
‘Mo is touch and go for tomorrow - we’ll see.’
—Thomas Frank, November 7, 2025
Mo is coming back from an unspecified knock, and considering he was not called up to play for Ghana due to injury, it was probably the right decision to sit him on Saturday vs. United. He could probably use the extra two weeks to rest and recover fitness, unless someone is lying and his leg has fallen off or something.
Randal Kolo Muani
Injury — fractured jaw. Out — indefinitely
‘He actually struggled a little bit, but nothing big”
— Thomas Frank, November 8, 2025
Face, meat Slabhead’s elbow. RKM was subbed out at halftime of Saturday’s draw vs. United. That itself was unusual and probably should’ve tipped us off that there was something wrong with him, since Frank very rarely makes halftime tactical subs. Doctor Google tells me a fractured jaw could take as long as 2-3 months to fully heal, but there are examples of players with the same injury playing with a protective face mask, so we’ll have to wait for an update to know more. BTW, Frank’s quote, given in the post-match press conference, can either be attributed to Frank really not knowing RKM’s actual status minutes after the match, or it’s evidence that he will lie to protect injury status.
Cristian Romero
Injury — he’s fine. Out — No, seriously, he’s fine
‘Yeah, he was just done physically. He just came back from that injury. He’s fine.’
—Thomas Frank, November 8, 2025
He’s fine. No, it’s okay, he’s fine. It’s nothing to worry about. Seriously, stop obsessing over injury stuff. He’s fine. FINE. It’s all okay. This is fine. Everything’s fine. I am okay with events as they are unfolding currently.