Tottenham hit with double injury scare as Mathys Tel finds form at perfect time

Tottenham need to hit the ground running after the international break

Sam Tabuteau, Sports Reporter

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The extended international break has come as a welcome distraction for Tottenham, given their disastrous start to the season.

Rock bottom of the Premier League table and without a win from their first five league games, the pressure is slowly increasing on Roberto De Zerbi, and he will hope his players have come back re-energised after spending time with their respective countries.

Spurs had 14 first-team players away on international duty, including England U19 international Luca Williams-Barnett, who was recently announced as part of De Zerbi’s first-team squad.

Meanwhile, those not called up by their countries, or who withdrew through injury, were given a week off before returning to training at Hotspur Way.

De Zerbi has bemoaned his side’s lack of fitness this season, so he will no doubt have used the extended break to build his team’s physical robustness as they head into a crucial run of fixtures.

That said, the Italian faces an anxious waiting game to see what condition Spurs’ internationals turn up in as they make their way back to England over the course of this week.

Here, Standard Sport assessed the winners and losers from the international break…

Antonin Kinsky

Getty

Winners

Antonin Kinsky

Made his senior international debut for the Czech Republic as they were beaten 3-1 by Spain. An important milestone for the 23-year-old, even if his side were well beaten by the World Cup holders.

Andy Robertson

The veteran full-back made his 100th appearance for Scotland, captaining Sebastien Pocognoli’s side to a 2-0 win over North Macedonia. Robertson is just the second man to reach 100 appearances for Scotland and is closing in on Kenny Dalglish’s all-time record of 102 caps.

Mathys Tel

Scored a hat-trick as France U21s beat Switzerland 7-1 to take his tally for the international break to five goals. Also came off the bench to score the winning goal as France beat Luxembourg 3-2 to seal their spot at the European Under-21 Championship finals next summer.

Luca Williams-Barnett

Played a starring role for England’s U19s, scoring in back-to-back games against Norway and the USA. Featured in all four of the Young Lions’ games and received plenty of plaudits for his sublime long-range goal against Norway.

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Omar Marmoush

Scored a brace as Egypt ran out 5-0 winners in their Africa Cup of Nations qualifier against South Sudan. De Zerbi will hope Marmoush’s first goals of the season can provide a much-needed confidence boost.

Mateus Fernandes

Captained Portugal’s U21s to qualification for the European Under-21 Championship finals, assisting Goncalo Oliveira from a corner as they beat Gibraltar 4-0.

Mohammed Kudus

Despite turning down a call-up to play for Ghana, Kudus is arguably the biggest winner from the international break after choosing to focus on his rehabilitation from a serious quad injury.

Kudus could feasibly have played over the international break but did not want to risk suffering a setback and instead chose to work with Spurs’ medical team to ensure he is back to his best.

Yang Min-hyeok

Despite later having to apologise for his comments post-match, Yang grabbed the winning assist as South Korea won Asian Games gold against Japan.

Micky van de Ven

AFP/Getty

Losers

Micky van de Ven

Will need to be assessed ahead of Saturday’s trip to Manchester United after his hand was stepped on in the closing stages of the Netherlands’ final fixture of the international break, a 2-1 win over Serbia.

The Tottenham captain is expected to be fit, but the innocuous injury potentially leaves De Zerbi with another selection headache.

Jan Paul van Hecke

Returned to Spurs early after suffering a foot injury in the Netherlands’ first game against Serbia. Van Hecke completed the 90 minutes but saw the issue flare up in an open training session the following day.

It is unclear how severe the injury is and whether Van Hecke will be fit to face United this weekend.

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