Tottenham Hotspur rising star Mason Melia has returned to individual training after missing time with a back injury, journalist Alasdair Gold has revealed.
The 18-year-old forward was spotted training on the pitches at Hotspur Way this week, two months after joining Spurs from Irish side St Patrick’s Athletic.
Tottenham signed Melia for an initial £1.6m back in February 2025, and the striker finally linked up with the Lilywhites in January, once he turned 18.
Melia made 98 senior appearances during his time with St Pat’s, scoring 25 goals and providing eight assists.
Mason Melia Returns to Training
Gold, speaking on his YouTube channel, revealed that Melia also picked up a chest infection after his move to London in January, which further delayed his return.
The 18-year-old appears to have recovered from both issues and is expected to begin full training in the near future:
“After putting pen to paper on his long-term contract until 2031, Melia arrived in January, and he had a back injury that he'd been playing with at St Pat's for the last couple of months of the season.
“It was decided to let him rest and fully recover for that before they kind of throw him into Tottenham Hotspur life.
“However, I understand, in the classic Tottenham style, he then got a chest infection that further delayed him.
“A rest maybe isn't the worst thing at this time for him. He's only 18, but he's played 98 senior matches.
“He's been involved in 33 goals, scoring 25, recording eight assists and, like I said, only 18 years old, and sometimes these young players, you know, we're seeing Lucas Bergvall picking up lots of injuries right now, having played a lot of football when he was 18 as well.
“[…] But look, the good news is, from my understanding, on Monday, he started stepping up his effort on the pitches at Hotspur Way, and he is expected to begin full training in the near future.”
Spurs beat competition from top Premier League and European clubs for Melia, who scored 15 goals in 44 appearances for St Pat’s last season.
The 18-year-old has also won six caps for Ireland’s Under-21s to date, netting three times.
Spurs Injury Crisis Deepens
Tottenham’s extensive injury list is continuing to pose problems for under-pressure manager Igor Tudor, as the Croatian could be without 11 first-team players for their Premier League clash against Liverpool on Sunday.
Both captain Cristian Romero and Joao Palhinha are doubts after a clash of heads in the 5-2 defeat to Atletico Madrid in the Champions League, while Micky van de Ven will miss the game after picking up a red card against Crystal Palace.
Dejan Kulusevski and James Maddison are long-term absentees, while Wilson Odobert is rehabilitating from an ACL injury and is expected to miss the rest of the season.
Mohammed Kudus, Rodrigo Bentancur, Lucas Bergvall and Ben Davies are also unlikely to feature due to setbacks, while Destiny Udogie could be in contention to return from his hamstring injury after missing the Atletico defeat.