Tottenham's players are set to return to pre-season training next month and a small group will be there before some of their team-mates
Roberto De Zerbi will get to work with a group of his Tottenham players from the off next month as they begin preparations for next season.
The Italian head coach will be stepping into his first pre-season at Hotspur Way with the Spurs players expected to start coming back to the Enfield training complex in stages from Friday July 10 for medical and physical testing and gym work. They will then launch into full work on the training pitches with De Zerbi and his coaching staff from Monday July 13 ahead of a Premier League season which begins later this year due to the World Cup.
Some first team stars will be back later than their team-mates as Tottenham have 12 players currently away at the World Cup. Those are Cristian Romero, Kevin Danso, Luka Vuskovic, Djed Spence, Pape Matar Sarr, Pedro Porro, Lucas Bergvall, Micky van de Ven and Rodrigo Bentancur as well as summer signings Andy Robertson, Marcos Senesi and Jan Paul van Hecke.
Those players will return in stages depending on when their involvement at the World Cup across the Atlantic comes to an end, with three weeks the required minimum break after summer international football.
That leaves a group of players who will return earlier than their World Cup colleagues and they have the chance to hit the ground running under De Zerbi and impress the Italian ahead of a big season at the club in which anyone could be replaced in the transfer market.
Some players who had non-World Cup international fixtures earlier this month may get a couple of days more rest but most, if not all, will return from the start of pre-season.
James Maddison and Dominic Solanke will be looking to build their fitness after an injury-hit season last time out. Also set to be back at the start of pre-season from the first team will be Conor Gallagher, Archie Gray, Richarlison, Mathys Tel, Destiny Udogie, Ben Davies, Souza, Antonin Kinsky, Guglielmo Vicario, Radu Dragusin and Brandon Austin.
Mohammed Kudus and Dejan Kulusevski will be involved when they are fit to return from the long-term injuries that dashed their World Cup hopes, while Wilson Odobert and Xavi Simons will not be back until the turn of the year from their ACL injuries.
De Zerbi will decide whether the likes of Yang Min-hyeok, Kota Takai, Dane Scarlett, Alfie Devine and Ashley Phillips work with the first team group depending on their futures, as well as returning U21 loan players with first team experience such as Mikey Moore, Will Lankshear and Jamie Donley among others.
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In terms of pre-season match action, Spurs will be hosting League One side MK Dons at Hotspur Way on Wednesday July 22. Unless another training ground friendly is arranged in the preceding weekend, that could be the first chance for De Zerbi to look over his Spurs squad in a match situation and their early physical status.
Very quickly after that game, Tottenham will fly off to New Zealand to take on Auckland FC on Sunday, July 26 at Eden Park. The following day, De Zerbi's men will take a shorter flight to Australia to start their preparations for a fixture against A-League side Sydney FC on Wednesday, July 29 at the Allianz Stadium.
Then to close out their summer tour Tottenham will meet Chelsea in the Australian city as part of the 2026 Sydney Super Cup.
With 21 days remaining of pre-season after that, more friendly fixtures are expected and there's the potential for a game at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium ahead of that new Premier League campaign and the opening trip to Brentford on August 22.