North Londoners suffered a huge injury blow at the weekend
Sidelined: Lucas Bergvall, Richarlison and Mohammed Kudus
London Standard
Oli Gent
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Tottenham are at a crunch time in their season having suffered their latest blow with FA Cup defeat by Aston Villa at the weekend.
Thomas Frank’s side were beaten 2-1 at home by Unai Emery’s high-flyers, and tempers frayed at full-time on and off the pitch, with fans furious at the team’s poor form.
It was their fourth game without a victory, and it leaves the north Londoners winless in the new year.
Their injury crisis was deepened earlier in the week with yet another setback, but there was more positive news with Dominic Solanke returning after a long spell out against Villa.
They suffered another worry at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Saturday, as Frank lost yet another attacker to the treatment table.
Here is the latest Tottenham injury news and return dates…
Mohammed Kudus
Kudus was withdrawn early in the draw with Sunderland to give Frank even more headaches about his options in the final third.
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The Ghanaian went down off the ball holding his left thigh, with Randal Kolo Muani coming on in his place.
It was revealed last week that Kudus’ injury is in fact worse than first feared, and Frank believes that he won’t return to action until the March international break.
“Mohammed, unfortunately, is a bigger one to the tendon in the quad,” Frank said.
“That is one where we expect him back after the March international break.”
Without Kudus, Spurs do not have a single natural right winger fit in their current first-team squad.
Potential return date: April 2026
Worse than feared: Mohammed Kudus
Getty Images
Destiny Udogie
Udogie is in contention to return this month from a hamstring injury, but he did not feature in the Villa defeat at the weekend.
The left-back suffered a soft tissue problem back in December, with Frank assuring that the Italian would not be out for “too long”.
However, he has now been out for eight games, despite the Spurs boss saying that he was ahead of Solanke on the comeback trail.
Solanke returned off the bench against Villa, while Udogie did not make the matchday squad.
Potential return date: January 17 vs West Ham (H)
Out: Destiny Udogie
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Richarlison
The Brazilian is Spurs’ latest injury worry after he hobbled off against Villa holding his hamstring.
The forward has missed chunks of the last few seasons with hamstring issues, and Frank called on the footballing authorities to “look into” mounting injury lists after Richarlison’s withdrawal.
“I think we have done a lot of things right to get him where he is now; I think he has done a lot of things right,” Frank said.
“It's not only about us, it's about every club. I think there are a few injuries across the Premier League.
“I think it's something for the football authorities to look into as well. We played five games in 13 days, four in 10, that's one of the few clubs that did that, and this is our third time this season.
“That's the most tricky thing with two days in between. We are dealing with it, we are doing everything we can to compete in it, but that's a tough schedule.”
Potential return date: Unknown
Latest blow: Richarlison
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Lucas Bergvall
The Swede is another currently on the sidelines after he picked up a knock in the 3-2 defeat by Bournemouth.
He missed the Villa game, with Frank saying that the midfielder would be assessed ahead of the FA Cup tie.
“Lucas is being assessed today,” Frank said in his pre-match press conference.
“We will know more later today with him.'
Potential return date: January 17 vs West Ham (H)
Rodrigo Bentancur
The Uruguayan Bentancur also picked up an injury at the Vitality Stadium.
The midfielder was replaced by Archie Gray four minutes from time to further deepen Spurs’ injury crisis.
The former Juventus man sustained a hamstring problem, which Frank admitted was a “bigger” isue.
“Rodri has a hamstring injury - looks like a bigger one, unfortunately,” the Dane said.
“We don’t know the time frame. That we will know later.'
Potential return date: Unknown
Treatment table: Rodrigo Bentancur
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Dejan Kulusevski
Star wide man Kulusevski is himself moving closer to a return that would see him play his first game of the campaign.
The Swede has been out since April with a patella problem, but returned to the grass during the November international break.
Frank has said that the club will not rush him back, insisting: “We know it is a complicated injury.
“If there is one person who can accelerate that [recovery], it is Dejan. The most important thing is to remove the pain in the knee. He had an injection to help that ten days ago.
“We will know in 3-4 weeks if that has settled. And when it has settled, hopefully, he will be on the grass and from there, we will see what is happening.”
Potential return date: February 2026
James Maddison
Maddison will likely miss the remainder of the season after he sustained an ACL injury during pre-season.
The attacking midfielder suffered the problem in Korea in a friendly against Newcastle, and has not played at all this term.
The midfielder offered an update when he appeared on Monday Night Football back in December.
“I'm doing really well for the stage that I'm at, it’s obviously a long injury I have got, I had a big knee surgery,” he said.
“More than anything right now it’s just about staying in the right mindset. I’ve had to accept and get over the fact that I’m going to be out for a long time.”
“It's very early stages,” Frank said of Maddison.
“It's still a long-term injury, so it's good to see him out there, but very early stages. There's no specific time frame. It will be a long time, unfortunately, before he's available.'
Potential return date: Summer 2026
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