Tottenham handed major injury boost as training footage released of long

Tottenham Hotspur have been handed a major injury boost ahead of their return to domestic football, as one of Thomas Frank's knee victims has returned to team training.

The Lilywhites have five days left to plan for their fourth Premier League fixture of the season away to West Ham United on Saturday evening, which kicks off a hectic end to the month for the Europa League winners.

Frank's side then begin their Champions League campaign at home to Villarreal on September 16, before meetings with Brighton & Hove Albion (September 20), Doncaster Rovers (September 24), Wolverhampton Wanderers (September 27) and Bodo/Glimt (September 30).

Injuries have not been kind to Tottenham already this term, but one of their long-term absentees has now taken a huge step forward in his recovery from a devastating issue.

Footage uploaded to X by the official Tottenham account on Monday showed Romanian defender Radu Dragusin working with other players on the training pitches as he steps up his rehabilitation from an ACL injury.

Dragusin back in Spurs training as Frank receives new injury boost

The centre-back has been sidelined for over seven months with the issue, which he sustained in a Europa League victory over Elfsborg on January 30, forcing him to miss the final success over Manchester United a few months later.

Dragusin underwent surgery to rectify the issue, and he was seen undertaking various exercises as part of team training on Monday, including sprints and ball work.

Frank told reporters on August 29 that he was optimistic of having Dragusin back in team training within a week, and the 23-year-old's recuperation therefore appears to be going according to plan.

It will still be some weeks before Dragusin can be considered for a return to competitive football, and he may build his fitness back up with the Under-21s first, but the Romania international is expected to be back on the pitch before the end of the calendar year.

Dragusin has made 37 appearances for Tottenham since joining from Genoa midway through the 2023-24 season, including 14 Premier League starts in the 2024-25 campaign thanks to Micky van de Ven and Cristian Romero's own injury woes.

When could Tottenham's other injury victims return?

Dragusin is one of six Spurs players currently in the care of the doctors, but at least one of them - Dominic Solanke - should be back at Frank's disposal for the trip to the London Stadium this weekend.

The England international missed his side's 1-0 defeat to former club Bournemouth two weekends ago due to an ankle problem, but Frank expressed his belief that he would return shortly after the two-week hiatus.

Meanwhile, Yves Bissouma was also absent from the loss to the Cherries due to an unspecified issue, one which Frank described as minor, but he is still being linked with a move away from the club to the Turkish Super Lig.