Tottenham fans have been met with disappointing news as the club prepares for its southern hemisphere tour, with Kulusevski and Kudus both left out of the travelling party. Roberto De Zerbi’s side are set to play three fixtures across Auckland and Sydney, building on their recent 1-0 victory over MK Dons.
The situation regarding Kudus is particularly frustrating given that there had been hope that he was closing in on a comeback, having not featured for Tottenham since significantly injuring his quad against Sunderland in January. While the former West Ham man had been pictured back at the gym at the Spurs training base recently, the decision has been made to keep him in London to focus on his recovery rather than risk the intensity of a transcontinental tour.
The picture looks less positive for Kulusevski, who remains absent from Tottenham's Enfield facility altogether, fuelling growing worry over the state of his knee. The Swedish winger has now gone 14 months without playing a competitive match, following patella surgery that followed an injury sustained just before Spurs lifted the Europa League in May 2025.
The 14-month layoff is a major concern for the technical staff, as the winger was once considered a foundational piece of the Tottenham attack. Wilson Odobert and Xavi Simons are also remaining in London to continue their rehabilitation from respective injuries.
While injuries dominate the headlines, there is plenty of excitement surrounding the new faces who have made the cut for De Zerbi’s 35-man squad. Chief among them are the high-profile arrivals from the summer window, including the £185 million duo Sandro Tonali and Mateus Fernandes.
Andy Robertson, Jan Paul van Hecke and Martin Dubravka will also experience their first trip with Spurs, though Marcos Senesi has been granted an extended break after reaching the World Cup final with Argentina, while Guglielmo Vicario, who has been linked with a move to Napoli, also misses out after picking up a minor knock in training recently.
Tottenham narrowly avoided relegation last season, surviving a nail-biting fight against the drop before finishing 17th in the Premier League for the second consecutive campaign, a run of results that ultimately paved the way for the ambitious rebuild now taking shape under De Zerbi. Since then, the club have been among the busiest in the Premier League transfer market, moving quickly to strengthen across the pitch as they look to close the gap on the division's top sides, having already committed £237 million to incoming signings this summer.
Despite that outlay, De Zerbi has made clear his rebuilding project is far from complete. "I feel very good because we are working well. I think we are building a very good team, with some very important new players, and we are starting the project in another part of the history of the club," the Italian said, speaking to SpursPlay. "Now we have to finish, as it is not finished yet, our transfer market, in and out, but at the moment I am very happy, very proud and very positive."