Tottenham injury news: Radu Dragusin latest as defender provides fresh update after nine

Tottenham Hotspur defender Radu Dragusin has provided a positive update on his recovery from an ACL injury that has kept him sidelined for over nine months.

The 23-year-old is yet to feature under new head coach Thomas Frank and has not made a first-team appearance for Spurs sine sustaining his injury in a Europa League win over Elfsborg at the end of January.

In recent weeks, Dragusin has taken part in first-team training on the grass, but Tottenham have understandably taken caution with his recovery due to the severity of his knee injury.

The Romania international is now edging closer to making his first-team comeback after he was given the green light to feature for Tottenham Under-21s in a behind-closed-doors friendly against Leyton Orient on Wednesday.

Dragusin has since opened up on his lengthy spell on the sidelines, expressing how grateful he was for the opportunity and explaining why game time is an important step in his recovery.

Dragusin “really close” to making first-team Spurs return

"I learned to be patient and to never take anything for granted," the centre-back told Tottenham’s official website.

"Because one day you are on the top of the mountain, next second you are with this kind of injury. This is life, it's only to make me stronger, make me more resilient. I've never given up and things are really close to being back as normal."

"Honestly, it felt really good,” Dragusin added. "Getting back out there with the boys, with the Under-21s, they've been great, they've been helping me, so I'm really grateful for this moment.

"It’s different, you can train how much you want, but once you are there in 11 vs. 11 on a big pitch, it's different, you can't really replicate it in the training. It’s the details like the sprints back, the adversity, the exposure that you get as a defender, it was a good day.

"It felt good, first minutes in 10 months out, finally minutes in the legs and I just have to build on this."

Dragusin has 'motivated' Maddison during his own recovery

James Maddison, who is also recovering from a long-term ACL injury, was in attendance to show his support for Dragusin during his Under-21s outing.

It remains to be seen when the Spurs playmaker will make his long-awaited comeback, but he has paid tribute to teammate Dragusin as an inspiration in his recovery.

"Day off for me today, but couldn't miss Radu's first minutes back after nine months,” said Maddison. “I've seen firsthand how hard this man has worked to be in that position ready to play again. His attitude, honest to God, keeps me so motivated every day. Proud of ya, mush."

In response to Maddison’s kind words, Dragusin said: "Honestly everybody, but especially Madders, he was there when I got injured, he always was next to me to give me a laugh in a difficult day.

"For him to be here next to me, it really meant a lot, because you know, this is how we are here, we are a family, we don't let anyone down in the hard moments, so I'm really grateful to be part of this group."

Dragusin is now set to train with Romania during the international break, but he will not be involved in either of their final two 2026 World Cup qualifiers against Bosnia-Herzegovina and San Marino.