Football London

When Tottenham released their squad photo for the 2026/27 season this month there was one face in the men's group that supporters could not put a name to.

Plenty of focus was on the fact that Richarlison was in the photo, despite not being named in Roberto De Zerbi's Premier League squad for the coming season. There was also just the one outfield academy player in the Spurs first team set-up with the now 18-year-old Luca Williams-Barnett taking his place on the back row.

The front row of the squad contained De Zerbi's captaincy group flanking him, in the shape of skipper Micky van de Ven, Pedro Porro, James Maddison, Ben Davies and Archie Gray.

Along with the 29 players making up the first team squad, around De Zerbi there were 10 members of the Italian's staff that work with him each week directly with the team.

There was assistant head coach Andrew Crofts, who arrived from Brighton in the summer to supplement the existing first team coaching staff from De Zerbi's first few months at the end of last season.

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Those included Marcattilio Marcattilii and Marcello Quinto, who arrived with their compatriot as fitness coach and senior professional development phase coach respectively. They joined a group that already contained assistant coaches Bruno Saltor and Andreas Georgson, individual development coach Cameron Campbell and head of goalkeeping Fabian Otte plus assistant first team goalkeeping coach Dean Brill.

Those eight coaches are all in the squad photo, along with Enrico Venturelli, a long-time De Zerbi colleague who football.london reported had joined up towards the end of last season as his translator on the training pitches and in his media work.

That left one member of staff at the top right of Tottenham's squad photo unaccounted for, wearing the initials "FC" on his training top, and that left some supporters trying to work out who it was.

Wonder no more as football.london has the answer. It is Francesco Calone, who has the official title at Spurs of technical development coordinator. The Italian left De Zerbi's boyhood club AC Milan after eight years at the Serie A side, working since 2024 as a first team match analyst.

Calone, who has earned various UEFA coaching badges, worked his way up from the Milan side's academy to assist their first team and left the Italian giants on the day that De Zerbi was announced as the new head coach of Tottenham. Now he is playing his part in the big Spurs rebuild.

Tottenham return to Premier League action this weekend with a trip to Old Trafford and both sides could be missing some players

The extended international break comes to a close with a big Premier League game for Tottenham Hotspur at Manchester United on Saturday.

Roberto De Zerbi and his players need to finally get their season up and running, having spent the three-week break rooted to the bottom of the Premier League table without a victory to their name in their opening five matches. Michael Carrick's United side have only won once so far and lie three points above the north London outfit in 12th.

Spurs will be heading to Old Trafford with a couple of international break concerns but also some potential returnees and the same is the case for their Manchester hosts.

With United doing the welcoming, let's start with their doubts. Carlos Baleba could be in line to make his debut after his £70million summer move from Brighton after returning from an ankle injury and featuring in a behind-closed-doors friendly against Lausanne-Sport on Friday.

Striker Benjamin Sesko felt shin pain after the Carabao Cup match against Brighton and withdrew from the Slovenia squad so he could be a doubt for Saturday.

Patrick Dorgu went on international duty with Denmark but came off after just half an hour of their game against Wales with a thigh problem. Noussair Mazraoui faced similar on Morocco duty with a back injury that forced him off.

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Carrick is awaiting the return of Matthijs de Ligt from his long-term back injury while Amad could make his return against Spurs if he has trained with the group as the United boss hoped and both Kobbie Mainoo and Marcus Rashford withdrew from the England squad but will be hoping to feature at the weekend.

Manuel Ugarte remains out with his knee ligament injury suffered at the World Cup while goalkeepers Karl Darlow and Tom Heaton have been out with injuries during this campaign.

When it comes to Tottenham, De Zerbi will provide an update on the latest injury news surrounding Micky van de Ven and Jan Paul van Hecke at his press conference on Friday. Both suffered injuries on duty with the Netherlands, the Spurs captain hurting his hand after it was accidentally stamped on and feeling dizzy with the pain while Van Hecke suffered a toe injury in the previous game that prevented him from kicking the ball.

This game might come too early for Pedro Porro after his hamstring issue while Mykhailo Mudryk has been recovering from his ankle injury suffered in training. Wilson Odobert and Xavi Simons are working on their rehabilitation from cruciate ligament injuries but Dejan Kulusevski is closing in on a return from the complicated knee injury that has kept him out for more than 500 days.

In all there are a large number of doubts for both sides and there could yet be further with more international games still to be played before players return to London and Manchester.

Tottenham Hotspur return to Premier League action on Saturday evening, as they travel to Old Trafford to take on Manchester United - but a number of first-team players will miss the match

Tottenham Hotspur take on Manchester United on Saturday evening, but Roberto De Zerbi will be without a number of first-team players.

It's been a long, three-week international break with English fans itching for the return of the Premier League, despite having the opportunity to watch Thomas Tuchel's Three Lions thriving on the world stage.

However, the condensed four-game Nations League break has also opened the door to Spurs players potentially picking up injuries while on duty with their respective countries.

That's on top of an already lengthy injury list to navigate early into the season, with the Lilywhites in desperate need of having their best talents available as they look to turn around a sub-par start to 2026/27.

Here, football.london breaks down all of the latest with regard to injury news and potential return dates for Tottenham Hotspur players...

Micky van de Ven

The hearts of Spurs fans will have been in their mouths when Micky van de Ven was forced off the pitch late on during the Netherlands' Nations League win over Serbia on Sunday, considering how vital he is to the north London club.

The centre-half had his hand stepped on by Luka Jovic, and was seen writhing in pain as he was taken off the pitch - leaving Xavi's side down to 10 men given they had already used all of their substitutions for the game.

However, Xavi confirmed in the aftermath of the 2-1 win that Van de Ven's serious was not of a serious nature. The Spaniard explained: "He’s ok, he felt dizzy because he suffered with his finger. It’s not a big injury."

That will come as welcome news to Tottenham supporters, as he should be available for selection this weekend.

Potential return date: Saturday, October 10 vs Manchester United (A)

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Pedro Porro

Pedro Porro was forced to withdraw from Spain's Nations League camp as a result of a hamstring injury sustained against Aston Villa last month.

While reports at the time suggested that he would be out for up to a month, the full-back has since came on leaps and bounds in his recovery.

However, Saturday's game looks likely to land a little too soon for Porro to participate.

Potential return date: Mid to late October

Mykhailo Mudryk

Mykhailo Mudryk has been limited to just one game under Roberto De Zerbi since making the switch from Chelsea on a season-long loan as a result of injury.

The Ukrainian picked up an ankle injury in training last month and has been sidelined since. However, he could be back in action before the turn of the month.

Potential return date: Saturday, October 31 vs Crystal Palace (H)

Dejan Kulusevski

Dejan Kulusevski has been recovering from a knee injury from May 2025 which forced him to miss the entirety of last season. He has since returned to first-team training, with hopes that the international break has given him ample opportunity to build up his fitness.

Spurs will be very cautious as they reintegrate him to his first-team duties, however, and Kulusevski remains a little way from consistent game time just yet.

Potential return date: Late October/November

Wilson Odobert

Wilson Odobert has been absent from the Tottenham Hotspur first-team since undergoing surgery on a ruptured ACL back in February.

Reports suggest that he could return in November, should his recovery continue to run smooth.

Potential return date: November

Xavi Simons

Xavi Simons is also on the road to recovery following surgery on a ruptured ACL, which occurred this summer. While he has made waves in his recovery, he is not expected to feature under De Zerbi until the new year.

Potential return date: 2027

Jan Paul van Hecke

Summer signing Jan Paul van Hecke also sustained an injury while representing the Netherlands, with an issue arising in training the day after the nation's 2-1 win over Serbia at the end of last month.

He was forced to withdraw from the squad and return to north London prematurely as a result, with Xavi explaining at the time: "During the match against Serbia, someone stepped on him.

"He didn’t realise it during the match, but afterwards it was impossible for him to play. He really wanted to try, but he was in a lot of pain. That is why we decided to take him off the list.

"He tried to participate in recovery training. He tried again today, but he couldn’t touch the ball."

It remains to be seen how severe Van Hecke's issue is.

Tottenham winger releases apology after controversial comments cause anger  Football London

The former Tottenham Hotspur boss has been speaking about his time at the club and his phone calls with the former chairman and owner

Harry Redknapp believes a couple of phone calls from Daniel Levy and Joe Lewis about Robbie Keane ushered him towards his sacking at Tottenham.

Redknapp spent four years at Spurs with one of the best squads in recent memory with players such as Luka Modric, Gareth Bale, Rafael van der Vaart, Ledley King, Aaron Lennon, Kyle Walker, Danny Rose, Jermain Defoe and Keane. Amid links to the England job in his final year at the helm, with Redknapp admitting at the time that he would have left if offered the role, and declining results, he was sacked by Tottenham in June 2012 with a year remaining on his contract.

Now 79, Redknapp believes a couple of phone calls from ex-chairman Levy and the club's former owner Lewis about Keane made him realise the end might be coming.

"We were second in the league, going great. I'd never met Joe Lewis. Joe Lewis owns Tottenham. He was the boss. Daniel, you know, had all the day-to-day stuff. But Joe was the governor, and I'd never met Joe. Then I get a phone call on the way to Stansted Airport on a Friday," Redknapp told OLBG’s ‘The Jeff Stelling Show’, which is out at the end of October.

"Daniel rings me. He never rang me on a Friday, never interfered. Daniel was good as gold with me. I have to be truthful. I never had a problem with Daniel Levy. I don't really speak to him now, but I have to be honest, he was fine with me, good with me. But I'm driving to Stansted Airport before a trip to Old Trafford, and we're second in the league, playing fantastic.

"Daniel rings me. "Harry, who are you going to play up front tomorrow?" We had a few injuries. I said, "Robbie Keane." He said, "Robbie Keane?" I said, "Yeah. Why?" He said, "Oh, I'm just a bit surprised. Did you not think to ask Rafa van der Vaart who he wants to play with?" I said, "What's it got to do with Rafa van der Vaart, Daniel? I pick the team, not Rafa." "Well, I thought it might be interesting." "No, not really. I'm not interested. I'm playing Robbie."

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He continued: "So I get to the hotel that night in Manchester. My phone goes. It's Ivana, Joe Lewis's secretary. "Hello, Ivana." "Joe wants to speak to you." "Yeah, sure." "Hello, Harry boy, how you doing, son?" "Yeah, I'm all right, Joe." He said, "I love our forward line. Lennon, Pavlyuchenko, van der Vaart, Gareth Bale. Good forward line, Joe." He said, "That Robbie Keane's useless, right?" I said, "That's your opinion, Joe, innit."

"He said, "He don't even know the offside rule." I said, "I think he does, Joe. He's scored X amount of goals." He said, "I tell you what, if he plays tomorrow, I won't even watch the game on television." I said, "That's your choice, Joe." And I knew then, that was after Christmas, I thought, "I could be in trouble here."

"Obviously I played Robbie the next day and Daniel again said, "Why don't you ask Rafa who he wants to play with?" Same answer again. But I knew that if things didn't go right, the slightest slip, I was gone. I think Daniel was actually choked to see me go, if I'm truthful. I think he was probably fighting my corner. I'm not sure, but I certainly never had any problems with Daniel. Joe obviously had that issue with me playing Robbie Keane."

Tottenham are currently bottom of the Premier League table under Roberto De Zerbi after five matches this season but Redknapp believes the Italian and his squad will soon rise.

"I don't know. I'm saying top four, top five, top six for them this season. I do think they'll turn it round. I do think they'll come good. They've got to, with that group of players," said the former Portsmouth and West Ham boss. "But 17th, you know, incredible. Good managers, good players. There's obviously something not right. But I don't know what it is. And they've had the players in, you know.

"Last year, the year before, they were better than where they finished. They should have been doing better, for sure. They had enough good players to have been up there fighting for European places.

"And as I heard someone saying the other day, they've bought players who were not getting in the teams at their previous clubs. They're not exactly serial winners, are they? One or two of them have had relegations. And the ones already there weren't exactly setting the world alight either.

"So you'd still expect them to finish in the top six, and I'm still confident my bet will come good at the end of the year. But they better hurry up and turn it round."

NFL star discovers the 'coolest thing' about the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium  Football London

Richarlison joined Tottenham Hotspur in 2022 when Antonio Conte was the club's manager, with the Italian giving his verdict on the club

Former Tottenham Hotspur boss Antonio Conte has given a brutal verdict on some of the club’s past signings, including Richarlison. The former Spurs manager also made his feelings clear on the club following his departure back in 2023.

Richarlison’s future at Spurs has been the subject of intense speculation over the last few weeks, particularly in the closing days of the summer transfer window.

The Brazilian looked set to leave Tottenham before the September 1 deadline, after he was left out of the club’s 25-man Premier League squad.

The 29-year-old is now unable to feature for Tottenham in the Premier League until after the January transfer window, at the earliest, but only if he is reinstated to the club’s officially submitted squad list.

After Tottenham were knocked out of the Carabao Cup last month by Liverpool, the earliest opportunity for Richarlison to feature for the club again will be in the FA Cup third round in January.

Richarlison was linked with a move to Brazil after the English transfer window closed, but no deal materialised, and it now remains to be seen what the future holds for the forward.

Conte has given an interview with The Athletic, where he spoke about his time at Tottenham, and also gave his verdict on some of the club’s signings, including Richarlison.

The Italian, who spent 16 months in charge of Spurs, is quoted as describing Richarlison and other players signing by the club as “run of the mill”, and went on to explain why his mindset did not suit the club.

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“I went to Tottenham with the ambition to turn things round a bit,” Conte reflects. “Partly because [Fabio] Paratici was there. When I arrived, they were ninth. We finished fourth, overtaking Arsenal.”

“I remember we weren’t winning or we’d drawn a game and I sent (then chairman) Daniel Levy a message. He came back to me, ‘Don’t worry, we’ll win the next one’.”

He added: “‘What the…?’ I kept saying to him, ‘Look!’”

“The thing that drove me mad was hearing people around me saying, ‘Tottenham are never going to win anything’. That they’re losers.”

Conte went on: “They were made fun of. They’re still being made fun of. Even now. Arsenal lost 3-0 to Brighton and they were joking, ‘Arsenal have turned into Tottenham’, get it? Believe me, this irritated me a lot.”

Tottenham captain Micky van de Ven breaks silence with six-word message after injury scare  Football London

Ledley King believes that Micky van de Ven has grown into the role of Tottenham captain and was the right choice for the job.

The Dutchman suffered a hand injury in the final stages of the Netherlands' 2-1 win against Serbia on Sunday and was feeling dizzy with the pain, which meant he could not continue, but the issue was described as "not serious" by his international boss Xavi. Van de Ven will now return to Spurs ahead of the Premier League's return and a trip to Manchester United on Saturday.

The 25-year-old centre-back was named Tottenham captain this summer after signing a bumper new deal with the club and he wore the armband through large parts of last season with Cristian Romero out injured or suspended. Van de Ven played his part in keeping Spurs in the Premier League and was handed the full-time captaincy when the Argentine left for Atletico Madrid.

The north London club now find themselves bottom of the table under Roberto De Zerbi after failing to record a win in their opening five matches of the Premier League campaign but Tottenham legend King believes it's all part of the education for the Dutchman.

"I think he's a fantastic player. His new role now is to make the players around him better. I think Micky takes care of himself. His ability to recover and put fires out is something we've seen over the last few years. That's an important element for the team," said the 45-year-old at Spurs' recent Hall of Fame event.

"So, I think the next role is to manage the group and get the best out of the group as a team. He's grown into the role. Having seen Micky on the pitch, he leads by example, for sure. I think he was the right choice to be captain."

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King was a young captain himself for the Lilywhites even though for the England international it was about his connection to the club from his youth.

"I had been at the club a long time. I think I was probably the longest-serving player, even though I was still pretty young. Of course, when you come through the academy as a local boy, I know what it's about. I've got many friends that are Tottenham fans," he explained.

"I know what it means to represent this football club. So, there were certain elements that were instilled in me from being a young kid here. There were certain things that you had to learn along the way. You tried to take things from the best captains that you'd been under. You left some things behind from certain captains as well. For me, the most important thing was to be yourself.

"You think the players see through it. Just because you've got the armband on, you can't change as an individual. It was important for me to be myself. But be a little bit more authoritative in doing that."

Van de Ven has a new defensive partner this season in Jan Paul van Hecke, although the duo know each other well from senior international duty as well as playing together as centre-backs for the Netherlands' under-21s. Van Hecke also suffered an injury during this break with the Dutch with a toe problem that prevented him from training.

King has been impressed with what he has seen so far from the former Brighton man, who scored his first goal for the club late on in the defeat to Aston Villa last month.

"I think he's a tremendous footballer. His passing range is excellent. Of course, he'll know Micky well. I think they're building up a good relationship there. I've been impressed by him," he said. "It's not easy when you're not winning games. We've kept a couple of clean sheets so far. There's plenty to build on, but it's been good."

So how do Spurs bounce back mentally after such a disappointing start to the season with their place at the foot of the table?

"No choice. You have to find a way," said King. "Most of the group have gone through difficult periods, and they managed to find a way out last season. They'll have to draw on that to a certain degree, but there is no easy way. You keep working on the training pitch, keep putting the work in. It's just a confidence thing.

"These are top players. I'm sure once the first positive result goes for the team, things can turn around very quickly. Just keep working hard, keep believing in yourself. That's the only way to do it."

When Tottenham players will return to training ahead of Man Utd as international breaks nears end  Football London