Evening Standard

Tottenham could have some key players back shortly

Tashan Deniran-Alleyne1 minute ago

Tottenham's squad has been depleted for a number of weeks now, but they could soon be boosted by the return of Cristian Romero for an hugely important period of the season

Spurs play a further eight times across three different competitions this month and having some key players fit and available for selection is something Ange Postecoglou will be hopeful of especially with Rodrigo Bentancur serving a domestic ban.

After all, since the final international break of the calendar year, he's seen his team thrash Manchester City 4-0 but home draws against AS Roma and Fulham sums up their inconsistency.

Next up is a trip to the South Coast to face Bournemouth on Thursday night and there's the potential of Romero featuring after sitting out the last four games.

With that said, here is all the latest Tottenham injury news and return dates...

Cristian Romero

The Argentine centre-back has been out with a toe injury since the middle of November but Postecoglou has revealed that Cristian Romero could be available for Thursday’s match at the Vitality Stadium.

Though the defender has still not resumed training, he is not “too far away” from returning to action.

Asked following the 1-1 draw at home to Fulham whether Romero might return for the clash against the Cherries, Postecoglou replied: “Potentially.

Tottenham could welcome back Cristian Romero from injury against Bournemouth.

Getty Images

“He still hasn't trained with the team. He's getting closer, but he still hasn't trained with the team.

“Him and Micky are still working with sport science staff. So, hopefully, not too far away.”

Potential return date: Thursday 4 December vs Bournemouth

Dominic Solanke

Dominic Solanke missed Sunday’s London derby with Fulham due to illness.

The 27-year-old arrived at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in the morning but was subsequently sent home after falling ill in the lead-up to the match.

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Speaking ahead of kick-off, Postecoglou did suggest the striker should recover in time to face his former club.

"He came in today and he wasn't the best, under the weather," the Spurs boss revealed. "We sent him home and hopefully he'll make a full recovery and be ready to go for the next one."

Potential return date: Thursday 4 December vs Bournemouth

Micky van de Ven

Van de Ven is back in training for Spurs after suffering a hamstring injury during the Carabao Cup victory against Manchester City at the end of October.

Still, the Dutchman will not be rushed back into action and could be ruled out until later this month.

“Micky is still a couple of weeks away,” Postecoglou said recently.

Potential return date: Unknown

Archie Gray

Spurs were dealt a minor injury blow late on against Fulham as Archie Gray, who came on in the 86th minute, was then forced off in the sixth minute of stoppage time.

Explaining why the teenager was withdrawn, Postecoglou said: “He got a knock, a bit of a dead leg, so hopefully nothing too significant.”

Potential return date: Thursday 4 December vs Bournemouth

Guglielmo Vicario

Tottenham’s goalkeeper suffered a blow to his ankle in the first half against Man City but played on and finished the game, making a string of fine saves in the process.

However, his movement didn’t look brilliant and he was seen limping when exiting the Etihad Stadium, with Spurs then revealing that he had undergone surgery on a fractured right ankle.

Vicario himself took to social media to reveal that he had played with the issue for an hour against City, making his performance all the more impressive.

The Italian international looks set for an extended spell out, with no timescale on his potential return as deputy Fraser Forster fills in.

Potential return date: Unknown

Tottenham will be without their No1 for an extended spell.

AFP via Getty Images

Mikey Moore

Exciting youngster Mikey Moore has seen what may be a breakout season slightly derailed by a virus.

“Mikey will still be out for a little bit of time as well,” revealed the Spurs boss.

“He was hit pretty badly by the virus and because he's young as well, we have to be careful. He's back in the building, but we're going to take out time with him.'

Potential return date: Unknown

Richarlison

A frustrating time of things on the injury front continued for Richarlison after he suffered a hamstring injury during the win over Aston Villa last month.

The Brazilian is not expected back until the New Year.

“Hopefully, he'll be back in the New Year but, again, similar to Micky [Van de Ven], we've got to be careful every step of the way,” confirmed Postecoglou.

Potential return date: January 2025

Wilson Odobert

Summer signing Wilson Odobert is facing an extended spell on the sidelines after suffering a “serious” setback in his recovery from a hamstring injury.

A club statement released on November 16 said: “We can confirm that Wilson Odobert underwent surgery to his right hamstring yesterday

"The 19-year-old will continue to be closely monitored by our medical team to determine when he can return to training."

Potential return date: Unknown

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Spurs welcome the Cottagers to N17 this afternoon in a London derby they are under pressure to win. After a stunning 4-0 thumping of champions Manchester City last weekend, manager Ange Postecoglou will know his players must back it up with victory to end their two-game winless run in the Premier League in front of their own fans.

It will again be a makeshift defence from Spurs, who are without first-choice goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario, and first-choice centre-back pairing Micky van de Ven and Cristian Romero, while James Maddison will be hoping for another start after his two goals against City was followed by a benching against Roma in the Europa League.

Fulham have won two of their last three meetings with Tottenham, of which both were among the worst performances by Spurs under Postecoglou. Marco Silva will have to make do without Joachim Andersen in a blow to his defence. Follow the game LIVE below with our dedicated match blog, featuring expert insight and analysis from Dan Kilpatrick at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

Spurs return to Premier League action after thrashing Man City

Engelmark, who was then a youth coach at Bromma, was excited by the potential of the gangly forward, who loved to dribble and had "a big drive that was unique" for a 12-year-old.

"We lost the ball and he was just a few metres away from the player with the ball and could press them obviously. But he didn't do it and I said, 'well, what do you think you're going to do when we don't have the ball? You need to defend!'"

Twelve years later, Kulusevski is not just a hard-working player by professional standards, he is probably the hardest-working player in the Premier League – a pressing machine who has been transformed since moving from the wing to a central role for Ange Postecoglou's Tottenham.

Last season, no one in the top flight covered more ground in a single game than Kulusevski's 13.36 kilometres in Spurs' 2-1 home win over Everton, while after 12 games of this term, he has run further per match and won possession in the final third more times than any other player.

In fact, Kulusevski is close to overhauling Newcastle's Bruno Guimaraes for the most ground covered in the Premier League this season, despite sitting out 79 minutes of Spurs' opening game at Leicester.

The Swede is no plodder, either, and only nine players in the league have clocked up more sprints than Kulusevski.

"I have something that no other player has," Kulusevski said after Spurs' landmark 4-0 win over Manchester City on Saturday. "So you can’t compare me to any other player.

It is quite the turnaround for the young player who hated to track back, and Engelmark says Kulusevski's development was a "a process" over their three years together at Bromma, with the penny finally dropping shortly before he moved to Italian club Atalanta, aged 15.

“He started working really hard towards the end of his time at the club,” Engelmark says. “In Italy he had to keep doing it, he learnt a lot in Italy in those three years."

"I think he has no lungs! He can run all the time," says Spurs captain Heung-min Son told Standard Sport. "What I like about him is people see what he's doing with the ball but behind the scenes he's working so hard.

Kulusevski has made changes to his lifestyle as he has matured, focussing more on his eating, drinking and sleeping to maximise his physical condition, and trying to limit time spent doom-scrolling on his phone.

“I just have one life, just have one career and I just want to maximise it as much as possible because when I'm done with this, I'm done. I want to have no regrets,” he said after another big shift in Thursday’s 2-2 draw with Roma.

He has also spoken positively about the impact of the birth of his daughter, Leonie, in April, saying becoming a father gave him both fresh motivation and perspective.

For Postecoglou, who pushed hard to ensure Kulusevski’s loan from Juventus was made permanent last season, his engine is down to a number of factors.

“It’s not a fluke. It’s a lot of hard work,” Postecoglou says. “There’s some science there, some genetics or DNA. He just has a real capacity to be able to run at a certain level consistently. His recovery rates are really elite in that he can go and rest quickly and go again.

“But there’s also that mental strength to do it. A lot of players have the capacity but maybe reach the limit where they naturally get tired and don’t go again until they need to. But Deki will keep going and going. It’s a big part of his football, it’s a big strength of his.

“I’m not a biomechanist, but his running efficiency is really good. He doesn’t seem to use too much energy. Or that’s how it looks to me. That could be a load of crap, I don’t know!”

He studies other players, occasionally poring over footage of someone like Kevin De Bruyne, and on a typical day, he is usually one of the last players to leave Tottenham’s training ground, often mid-afternoon, a good hour after most of his team-mates.

“He's very ambitious about how good he can be and that's a great thing,” Postecoglou says. “I've just got a feeling with Deki that he's not going to settle for any level apart from being the absolute best and it's great for us.”

Kulusevski is so focussed on being the best, he even spends his summers training, joining Engelmark for boot camps during the off-season, when they work on fitness and "details" in his game. Last summer, the focus was mostly on refining Kulusevski's end product.

"It was a couple of his old friends and some former players of mine who were in the same team, including [Celta Vigo and Sweden defender] Carl Starfelt," says Engelmark.

"He wants to be fit when he goes back and works on some details. We usually do it during the summer when he's home."

Kulusevski's move to the middle this season (or, rather, his return to the middle, because Engelmark says he always played him centrally) has also been a factor, freeing him up to cover the length and breadth of the pitch as one of Postecoglou's twin No.8s.

"Me and Deki always had these conversations [about position],” Son said. “Even when Antonio Conte was here. He knew he was very strong and he wanted to play in the middle, which he suits perfectly.

“He gives you more legs and more energy, he's doing really well with his back to the goal."

No player has created more chances in the Premier League than Kulusevski's 33 so far this season, making him both the most energetic player in the top flight and also the most creative.

Kulusevski can scarcely up his work rate but Postecoglou and Engelmark, probably the two coaches who know the Sweden international best, believe there is still enormous scope for improvement in his game.

Spurs return to Premier League action after thrashing Man City