Tottenham have only three matches remaining and Roberto De Zerbi is waiting to see if he will get any of his injured players back before the season ends
Roberto De Zerbi has three games to keep Tottenham in the Premier League and he will be hoping to have some of his injured players back to help.
De Zerbi has quickly discovered just how extreme Spurs' injury problems are. He lost two crucial players within his first week at the club in Mohammed Kudus and Cristian Romero and then soon after had Xavi Simons suffer an anterior cruciate ligament injury which has ruled him out of the World Cup and the rest of this year.
The 46-year-old Tottenham boss will be hoping for some change on the injury front, or at least no more injuries, and some of those who he has lost to come back before the end of the season.
On Thursday, De Zerbi at least reported no fresh injuries after the win at Villa Park, saying: "No. I'm happy because we are working well with all players. Another very important week. We have no problems."
Here's the latest on those nine players in the Tottenham treatment room ahead of Monday night's match against Leeds United.
Dominic Solanke
The 28-year-old striker has had a season ravaged by injury with that ankle problem in the first half of the campaign and then he suffered a hamstring injury during the win at Wolves last month.
Solanke missed the victory at Aston Villa and De Zerbi gave football.london an update on the England striker on Thursday.
"About Solanke, he's improving very quickly. I don't know, for this game, I don't know if he can be available," he said. "We hope for the next game in Stamford Bridge."
Return date: Potentially Leeds but maybe more likely Spurs' game at Chelsea on May 19
James Maddison
Maddison has been back in full training for a while after his long battle back from his anterior cruciate ligament injury and it is now nine months since the injury suffered in pre-season in Seoul.
Spurs have understandably been taking it cautiously with the midfielder and while he has been on the bench for the past three games under De Zerbi, he was never going to play a part. Maddison has been stepping up his warming up during matches but it has always been in white sport socks rather than match socks.
football.london asked De Zerbi on Thursday if Maddison could play a part against Leeds and get a few minutes at the end.
"I'm thinking about James Madison because I'm watching a top, top player. Maybe he's not ready yet to play, but as a physical condition, not for the rhythm, for the intensity of the game. We are playing in the Premier League, the most difficult league in terms of intensity and rhythm," he said.
"But as a player, it's great, as a coach, watching one player like this. Especially for me, because I was number 10. And I'm sensitive in number 10 players like Xavi Simons, Maddison, Kulusevski, Kudus. We have a lot of number 10s, but I want to see."
Return date: Perhaps a couple of minutes at the end against Leeds on Monday night
Guglielmo Vicario
Guglielmo Vicario underwent hernia surgery in March on a problem that has dogged him for months.
Spurs announced in the days before that the operation had been deliberately timed for the international break and the club's three week absence of fixtures in order to "have as minimal impact as possible". The club added that they hoped the Italian would be able to "return to action within the next month".
That has not been the case though as the goalkeeper is yet to return to training and De Zerbi provided an update on his compatriot on Thursday afternoon.
"No, Vicario is not ready yet. I don't know what will be the plan but he's suffering because he would like to help his teammates but he's not available yet," he stated.
Return date: Time is running out on this season
Xavi Simons
Just as he was flourishing under De Zerbi so Tottenham's injury hell grabbed Xavi during the win at Wolves with the club's fourth ACL injury in the past 16 months or so.
The Dutchman underwent his knee surgery this week and will now begin the long road back and as with Maddison, looks set to document the steps along his journey to keep the Tottenham fans updated on the way.
Xavi posted an image of himself after surgery on that right knee with the caption: "I went missin, on a mission just perfecting my craft. Intro done. Now we rise."
Return date: Early 2027 if we're sticking with the nine month timeline
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Cristian Romero
Romero's season with Tottenham was done with that knee injury suffered at Sunderland after Brian Brobbey pushed him into Antonin Kinsky and escaped a red card the Premier League's Key Match Incident panel later said he should have had.
No surgery was required but the skipper is not expected back before the end of this month due to the injury in his medial collateral ligament in his right knee. The Spurs captain could yet be back for the World Cup, but that of course will be of little cheer to Tottenham in their relegation battle.
Argentina assistant head coach Roberto Ayala last month told Cuadro Técnico, a television show on Fox Sports: "This morning we found out the results of Cuti’s MRI. Thank God that there’s nothing else wrong with his knee. Now they’re going to immobilise it and will likely give him platelet-rich plasma treatment, which is what’s being used now. We’ll see what happens after that."
Return date: Too late for Tottenham but maybe not the World Cup
Mohammed Kudus
Kudus returned to training in De Zerbi's first week after three months out with a serious quad tendon injury only to suffer a setback that ended his season and left his World Cup hopes with Ghana in tatters.
"We can confirm that Mohammed Kudus has suffered a setback in his return from injury. The Ghana international forward suffered a significant quad injury during our Premier League fixture against Sunderland in January. He had returned to team training during the past week, however will now require further specialist review and, potentially, surgery. We will provide any relevant further updates in due course. We're all with you, Mo," read a statement from Spurs.
"I started not with too big luck!" said De Zerbi. "Yes, Kudus was in my head a crucial player, especially for the position, but we have to look forward anyway."
It is yet to be stated whether Kudus will end up having surgery or not and as the club normally announce surgeries, it would suggest he has not yet, perhaps with a hope still of making the World Cup.
Return date: Not for Spurs this season anyway
Dejan Kulusevski
Dejan Kulusevski stated that he expects to be back playing in time for this summer's World Cup after his knee injury.
The Swede injured the patella in his knee back in May last year and after a couple of setbacks following his initial surgery, is yet to return to action for Spurs. At the end of last month he was spotted limping while in Spain meeting his international team-mates ahead of their World Cup play-off semi-final win against Ukraine.
The 25-year-old Tottenham midfielder revealed afterwards that he had undergone a small operation to clean out the knee and that was why he was limping but that the knee was "feeling great now" in a message on Instagram.
"I understand that people were worried, but it was really for the wrong reason. It was really positive that I did this little procedure and that we were able to find the problem. Now everything should be solved," he told Swedish media outlet Viaplay. "Now it's just a matter of slowly and surely coming back. I can see the light. It feels better now. I really have a positive feeling about these two important matches [for Sweden] and a World Cup in two or three months. This is how the book and the chapter will end. I am convinced of that."
When asked if he sees himself playing at the World Cup for Sweden this summer, Kulusevski said: "One hundred percent. Yes. That (the World Cup) is the driving force I have. To have that opportunity is absolutely fantastic. It's a challenge that I haven't been able to overcome so far in terms of getting healthy, but it's not over yet. Now the second game starts."
Return date: Time is running out for a Spurs return
Ben Davies
Davies underwent a second operation in January on the broken ankle he suffered in the Premier League defeat that month to West Ham United.
The 32-year-old Wales international was not involved in the World Cup play-off against Bosnia and Herzegovina and he was linked with potentially taking on a coaching role if Spurs went for another interim head coach before they managed to convince De Zerbi.
With his contract coming to an end this summer it may be that we don't get to see Davies in a Tottenham shirt again unless he either heals quickly or pens a new deal.
He did travel though in a club tracksuit on Sunday with the squad to Villa, in a non-playing capacity, watching the warm-ups and going on the pitch with the team as they celebrated at the final whistle. That might mean that Davies is nearing a return or it might just mean he wanted to involved in the squad feeling again.
Return date: Unknown
Wilson Odobert
Odobert suffered a ruptured anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee in February. He underwent surgery and is now working his way through the stages of his rehabilitation with the club's medical staff.
The Frenchman's time at Spurs has been fragmented by injuries and now the 21-year-old will follow in the footsteps of Maddison, Dragusin and Bentancur, and a little ahead of Xavi, in going through at least nine months or so out of the game.