The agent of Spurs centre-back Radu Dragusin has claimed the Romanian defender will return to action within the next month. Tottenham have been without the 23-year-old, signed from Genoa in January 2024 for an initial £21.5million, since the beginning of the year when Dragusin ruptured his ACL in a 3-0 Europa League win over IF Elfsborg.
Surgery was successful, however, and the player has been back out on the grass at Hotspur Way in recent weeks as he steps up his recovery.
Romania boss Mircea Lucescu recently named Dragusin on his preliminary list of overseas stars potentially in line for international call-ups for this month's upcoming matches against Moldova and Austria.
But Lucesca has since claimed Spurs were "not happy" about the prospect of Dragusin being rushed back into the international fold given he is yet to feature at club level.
Speaking to Romanian outlet Digisport, Dragusin's agent Florin Manea has since clarified that his client is on the right track and could be back to feature for Spurs in the coming weeks.
He said: “Radu is fine. I don’t know if he will be approved to play, especially since he hasn’t started full training at Tottenham. I’m glad he’s on the list. The moment of his return is approaching.
"That it will be now or in a month at most, I think Radu will be 100 per cent ready. There is no delay in recovery, the doctor told us that it is best to return from eight months onwards.
“Radu will be eight months from the operation in mid-October. On the contrary, he is ahead with his preparation. There have been players who have stayed for 12-13 months but the idea is not to rush.
“It is normal to feel Radu’s absence from the team. There is no replacement for him. He plays at the level he plays at and there is a big difference between what is played in England compared to other sides. It is impossible to replace Radu Dragusin at the moment.”
Speaking ahead of the 1-1 draw with Wolves, Thomas Frank revealed Dragusin was "progressing well" and added that his return was not too far off.
The Dane said: "He is progressing well. He has been on the grass for three weeks or something like that, so he progressing well as he should do. We all know coming back from an ACL is a longer one, so it's on track. It will be some weeks before he's involved in the squad."
Spurs are certainly not short of options at the heart of defence. When fit, captain Cristian Romero and Micky van de Ven are virtually undroppable but Kevin Danso and Dragusin are both adequate stand-in replacements. Luka Vuskovic and Kota Takai also remain big talents for the future.