Winless and goalless Spurs hoping for major double boost against Aston Villa
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Your weekly briefing on Tottenham, featuring team news and expert analysis from Sam Tabuteau
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Tottenham still have a number of injury issues persisting as they desperately bid to spark their season into life.
Despite a lavish summer transfer outlay in excess of £300million, and optimism surrounding Roberto De Zerbi’s first full campaign in charge, it has been another hugely disappointing start for Spurs.
Tottenham have yet to even score a single goal in four Premier League outings so far this term, let alone pick up any wins.
Their sole success came in the Carabao Cup second round demolition of Charlton, though they were quickly bounced out before the last 16 on Tuesday night after a 3-1 loss to Liverpool at Anfield.
Spurs host similarly out-of-form Aston Villa in the lunchtime top-flight kick-off in north London this weekend, seeking to finally kick-start their season ahead of an extended three-week international break, after which they face the likes of Manchester United and Chelsea.
Here is all the latest Tottenham injury news and return dates ahead of Saturday’s meeting with Unai Emery’s side.
Sandro Tonali
Tottenham’s biggest question mark ahead of facing Villa surrounds their headline £100million club-record signing.
Tonali has started every Premier League game since his high-profile arrival at Spurs from Newcastle in the summer, but missed Tuesday’s defeat at Liverpool after De Zerbi revealed that he had sustained an unspecified knock.
Spurs will hope that Tonali can play some part against Villa, with De Zerbi expected to deliver a new update on his fitness at Friday’s pre-match press conference.
Potential return date: Saturday September 19, vs Aston Villa (H)
Question mark: It remains to be seen if Sandro Tonali will return for Tottenham
Getty
Pedro Porro
One piece of positive injury news for Tottenham concerns first-choice right-back Porro.
The Spanish World Cup winner has started only twice for Spurs so far this season following his extended post-tournament break, before missing the games against Everton and Liverpool with what De Zerbi described as a “small muscular problem”.
He did not want to take any risks and so Porro did not feature at Anfield, but De Zerbi confirmed after the match that he would be back against Villa.
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Potential return date: Saturday September 19, vs Aston Villa (H)
Dejan Kulusevski
The long wait for Kulusevski’s Tottenham return continues. The Swedish international has not featured at all since May 2025 due to a long-term knee injury.
While he recently returned to first-team training, he has seemingly not been able to work consistently and De Zerbi confirmed before the Everton stalemate that Kulusevski had not been training with the team in the last week.
However, he said that was to be expected after such a long lay-off and was not due to any further setback.
Kulusevski will not be involved against Villa and it remains to be seen at what point after the international break that he might be in a position to play.
Potential return date: Unknown
Injury nightmare: Dejan Kulusevski has not played for Tottenham since May 2025
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Mykhailo Mudryk
Chelsea loanee Mudryk made his first competitive appearance since November 2024 off the bench in the recent goalless draw at Nottingham Forest, having resolved his anti-doping disciplinary proceedings with the Football Association (FA) over the summer.
However, he then promptly suffered an ankle injury during training that a frustrated De Zerbi labelled as “stupid”.
Mudryk is expected to be sidelined for around six to eight weeks, meaning he is unlikely to return until late October or early November, around which time Spurs face the likes of parent club Chelsea, Crystal Palace and Leeds in the Premier League.
Potential return date: Late October or early November
Xavi Simons
Simons remains on the comeback trail after rupturing the anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee during Tottenham’s important win at Wolves in April, missing the Netherlands’ World Cup campaign following surgery.
He is not expected to return to action until early 2027.
Potential return date: Early 2027
Wilson Odobert
Like Simons, fellow attacker Odobert is a long-term absentee for Spurs having ruptured the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee during the loss to Newcastle back in February.
He was reportedly expected to miss approximately nine months, which would see him potentially play some part in late November or December.
Potential return date: November or December
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