Tottenham Hotspur travel to Madrid on Monday ahead of their Champions League last 16 clash with Diego Simeone's Atletico side
Tottenham head to Spain on Monday afternoon with Igor Tudor having a couple of players unavailable despite being fit for the Champions League clash at Atletico Madrid on Tuesday.
Spurs have big Premier League problems on their hands right now as they lie a single point above the drop zone but this midweek brings a Champions League distraction as they take on Diego Simeone's side in the round of 16. Tuesday brings the first leg in the Spanish capital before next Wednesday the La Liga side will travel to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
Interim head coach Tudor will have captain Cristian Romero available for selection for the first time in his tenure after the Argentine's four-game ban comes to an end following his second red card of the season. Micky van de Ven will also be available before facing his own suspension against Liverpool on Sunday after the first sending off of his career against Crystal Palace.
Tottenham made three changes to their Champions League squad for the knockout stages. Winter signing Conor Gallagher replaced Brennan Johnson among the 22 spots available, following the attacker's move to Palace, meaning the England international can face his old team in Madrid despite playing for them in the league stage.
A change to the UEFA rules a couple of seasons ago means that players can play for two different clubs in European competitions.
Mathys Tel and Radu Dragusin were also added to the club's Champions League list, replacing the injured duo Ben Davies and Rodrigo Bentancur who will no longer be eligible for this season’s competition. Tudor said he hopes Dragusin and Djed Spence will be fit enough to take part in Madrid if required after recent issues.
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Two fit players remain out of the squad though and they are recent signing Souza and experienced midfielder Yves Bissouma, who was left out of the league phase squad. Tottenham's lack of senior 'club-trained' homegrown players and a large number of foreign players restrict how many can be registered.
Lucas Bergvall and Mohammed Kudus will be hoping Spurs remain in the competition as they are both still registered for the Champions League squad and are set to be the next players to return from injury alongside Destiny Udogie.
However, were Spurs to progress into the quarter-finals or beyond, then they would not be able to use Dejan Kulusevski or James Maddison should they return from injury in time as they have not been registered.
Wilson Odobert was registered for the knockout stages last month only to then suffer an anterior cruciate ligament injury that will rule him out for much of 2026 and the Frenchman cannot now be replaced.
Tudor will be down a couple of players for the game in Spain, barring any further injuries, but should also have most of his first choice defence available for the first time in his reign.