Football London

football.london provides you with the full transcript from Tottenham boss Roberto De Zerbi's press conference ahead of Saturday's huge Premier League home match against Brighton

Roberto De Zerbi has addressed the media as Tottenham prepare to host his former club Brighton in the Premier League.

The match will be his first home fixture as Spurs boss and the Europa League winners are in desperate need of victory as they bid to fight their way to safety.

De Zerbi was asked about a variety of topics including Cuti Romero's reaction to his cruel knee injury, his dinner with the players, James Maddison's fitness plus his time in charge of Albion.

His answers are in our press conference transcript below.

FOLLOW OUR TOTTENHAM FB PAGE! Latest Spurs news, analysis and much more via our dedicated Facebook page

How is Romero?

Romero I’m really sorry for him, for his injury. Romero, first of all loves Tottenham and the people have to know he is suffering for this injury. He is suffering because he can’t play anymore for us this season but he is a great captain for us, for Tottenham.

But we have to be anyway positive. We have Radu Dragusin and Kevin Danso. They are available to play, to play well, to give us quality with the ball and to be strong in the defensive phase. We can win anyway and we want to win anyway.

Have you been impressed with the reaction from the players in training?

I have to get to know the players better and better every week. It is much better. We have no time to lose. We have no time to understand the problems we have this season.

We have to be focused just on the next game and to transfer confidence. I can bring myself, I can bring my philosophy of football but also I’m working to create the good atmosphere, a good relationship with the players. I think in this moment of football, especially for Tottenham in this season, the qualities of the players are important but the spirit and the relationship between the players, the love the players put for the club is more important for sure.

You took the players out for dinner this week?

Yes I don’t know if we win the game for dinner but I know we eat very well and the food was amazing. And if we win, I’m ready to pay every week one dinner.

How beneficial was the dinner?

I believe in the people. I believe in the human relationship. I believe in the spirit. I believe in the soul of the players. Before we speak about tactical dispositions, style of play, defensive phase, with the ball, without the ball, set-pieces. All of these things are important but first of all I work with people with their problems.

There are a lot of players and we have to build and find in these last weeks the best relationship we can find and I want to see on the pitch players helping their team-mates and pushing everybody for one target and to achieve our big, big target for us. Because if we don’t achieve our target everybody will lose something in their career.

Team news?

Bentancur is available to play. I don’t know if he will start the game or not. Bissouma is available 100 per cent, more than the Sunderland game.

Vicario no. Vicario is another top guy and I’m looking forward to working with him. Anyway Kinksy played very well against Sunderland but Vicario is another important player for us. Big experience, big character, big personality and we are waiting for him.

What do you think of the work that Hurzeler and Brighton has done at the club and the way they play?

Fabian is a great coach, he's doing very well. I love Brighton, I love my former players. I'm grateful with Tony Bloom, with Paul Barber, with all players, all people working in this club, there are a lot of very, very good players, but Fabian is working very well and he's a credit for what they are doing.

Who will be captain for final six games?

Listen, I have to decide, I didn't decide yet because I have had other more important problems to find a solution.

But I would like all players to be a captain, especially in this moment, it's not important if you play in the first eleven, if you play 30 minutes or 90 minutes or you can't play, anyway we have to feel everyone the responsibility of this situation and we can't cry, otherwise we have to push and be stronger to come out of this situation because we are able to do that.

Tottenham seem to lack leaders, but James Maddison was training this week. How likely is it that he can play some part until the end of the season?

Yes, but there are a lot of different types to be a leader. A leader who talks inside of the dressing room, the leader with the ball, the leader in the tough moments, the leader because he helps the team-mates. To be a stronger team we need many, many leaders, for sure Maddison is different.

Maddison is a top player on the pitch with the ball, but also as a personality, as a character, as a mentality on the pitch, but I would like to reach this level for Micky van de Ven, for example, Bentancur is a leader, Palhinha is another leader, I would like to push with Solanke, because Solanke is one of the best strikers in the Premier League, and I want him stronger as a personality, as a character on the pitch.

But also Xavi Simons is very young, but he's a leader with the ball because he has personality, he has the right character to receive the ball when the ball is hot, because it's not so easy playing this moment for us, but we need players with personality and character, otherwise they don't play with me.

With Maddison, when do you think he will be able to play some minutes?I don't know, I don't know yet. I don't want to push too much because we lost Kudus in this way. I used to waiting the players when they are available, totally available to play and to restart the training. Because it's better to lose one game more than to take a risk for another new injury.

The situation is worse than last week by the table, how much does that point towards the mentality you are trying to build?

In my words, what I said last week was the focus is to win one game. I don't know if tomorrow we are able to win, I hope. I think we have the quality enough to win a game, but anyway we have to be stronger because the qualities of the players are bigger than all

the difficulties we are spending in this moment.

Do you think this might be a situation in which you just need to win one game and then everything can change and unblock the mentality of the talent?

Yes, I think it's crucial to win a game, not just for the table. One part for the table, for sure, but because we have to feel again what is nice to win a game and what they can do. Because I have no doubt about the qualities of the players.

When I watch the list of the squad, Bentancur, Bissouma, Palhinha, Xavi Simons, Kolo Muani, Richarlison, Van de Ven, I'm a lucky for that.

Now it's a tough moment, but to achieve the great target you have to pass through the difficulties.

You have to go through the difficulties, you have to get over the difficulties. There are maybe too many difficulties.

When you reflect on your time at Brighton, how did it help you evolve your career?

Brighton is a special place for me, like Marseille, because Marseille is finished in a different way, but anyway Brighton and Marseille for me are very close as emotions, as memories.

It was a magic place for me. It was a magic atmosphere with the players, the relationship with the players. They are a lot like my children, because the relationship is so close. Danny Welbeck, Pascal Gross, Jason Steele, Adam Webster, Joel Veltman, Lewis Dunk. A lot of great memories, but I want to win tomorrow for sure.

Bentancur is available to play, I don't know if he'll start the game or not, Bissouma is available but Vicario no.

Kinsky played very well in Sunderland but Vicario is another important player for us, big experience, character and personality.

Yes, I think it's crucial to win a game, not just for the table.

But also because we have to feel again, what is nice [feeling] to win a game and what that can do.

I have no doubt about the quality of the players.

Listen, I have to decide, I didn't decide yet.

I had other more important problems to find a solution.

I would like all players to be a captain.

We have to feel everyone, the responsibility of this situation.

There are a lot of different types of leaders.

Real leader who talks inside the dressing room, Maddison is a top player on the pitch with the ball but also as a personality, mentality on the pitch.

I would like to reach this level for Micky van de Ven, Palhinha is a leader, Bentancur, I would like to push with Solanke, he is one of the best strikers in Premier League.

I want him stronger as a character on the pitch.

I don't want to push too much as we lost Kudus in this way.

I will use the players when they are totally available to play and start the training, it's better to lose one game more than get another injury.

I don't know if we'll win the game from dinner, the food was amazing and if we win, I am ready to pay every week for one dinner.

I believe in the people, the human relationship, the spirit and the soul of the players.

Before we speak about tactical stuff, possession, set-pieces, these things are important but I work with people.

There are a lot of players but we need to build or find, the best relationship we can find and I want to see on the pitch, players that help their team-mates towards one target.

If we don't achieve our target, everyone will lose something in their career.

In case you have missed it, The Athletic's David Ornstein is reporting that Tottenham are in advanced talks to sign Marcos Senesi.

The Bournemouth centre-back is out of contract at the end of the campaign and has attracted interest from other top-six clubs.

Any deal would seemingly be dependent on Premier League survival.

You can read more HERE.

Roberto De Zerbi needs all the help he can get at Tottenham as the club fight for their Premier League status with only six games to go.

His predecessors Igor Tudor and Thomas Frank both had to deal with double figures when it came to injury absences in their final weeks in the job and De Zerbi found out the hard way just how ridiculous Spurs' injury problems are by losing two crucial players within his first week at the club.

The 46-year-old will be hoping for some change on the injury front if the club are to finally win a Premier League match in 2026 with a couple of players back in training at Hotspur Way this week to boost spirits.

De Zerbi will provide the latest on the injury front very soon....

Tottenham are reportedly in advanced talks with Bournemouth defender Marcos Senesi, who is set to leave the Cherries on a free transfer this summer

Tottenham Hotspur are reported to be in advanced discussions to secure Bournemouth defender Marcos Senesi when his contract runs out at the end of the campaign. The Argentine has caught the eye with his performances for Andoni Iraola's outfit, and looks set to follow his boss out of the Vitality Stadium in the summer.

Senesi arrived at Bournemouth from Feyenoord in 2022 but has turned down the Cherries' attempts to tie him down to fresh terms.

Instead, it appears he's weighing up a switch to another Premier League side, with Tottenham emerging as the frontrunners.

According to The Athletic, Spurs are the 'leading contender' to land Senesi's signature, despite Manchester United and Liverpool also being linked with the defender.

Nothing has been finalised as yet, with negotiations continuing, and the report adds that Senesi remains receptive to potential interest from elsewhere.

Furthermore, any prospective agreement for Senesi is said to be dependent on Tottenham maintaining their Premier League status - with Spurs facing an uphill battle to secure their place in the top flight.

Roberto De Zerbi is the latest manager brought in to attempt to salvage Spurs' campaign, but Tottenham currently lie in the relegation zone.

The 2025 Europa League champions will continue their battle against relegation at home to De Zerbi's former club Brighton when the sides clash in Saturday's 5.30pm kick-off.

A defeat in the capital could see Tottenham in further danger of relegation, with West Ham facing Crystal Palace and Nottingham Forest taking on Burnley.

The prospective Senesi arrival has raised questions over the futures of both Cristian Romero and Micky van de Ven.

Romero sustained an injury during the weekend loss to Sunderland and is expected to miss the rest of the campaign, and it remains to be seen if that will be the Argentina international's last match for the club.

FOLLOW OUR TOTTENHAM FB PAGE!Latest Spurs news, analysis and much more via our dedicated Facebook page

Senesi, like Van de Ven, operates as a left-sided centre-half, and while having two alternatives in each role would typically be ideal, Spurs won't be participating in European competition next season.

Consequently, playing opportunities will be scarce, meaning it might prove challenging to convince Senesi to make the switch if he isn't arriving as a guaranteed starter.

In other developments, Tottenham are also reported to be monitoring Andy Robertson closely, who recently confirmed his forthcoming exit from Liverpool.

Toby Alderweireld hasn't pulled any punches in his assessment of where it's all gone wrong at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium this season.

Toby Alderweireld has singled out Cristian Romero and Micky van de Ven for criticism. The former Tottenham Hotspur defender believes the duo have underperformed this season, claiming they, more so than others, have 'not been good enough'.

The Lilywhites fell into the bottom three of the Premier League last week when they lost to Sunderland at the Stadium of Light. West Ham had defeated Wolves at the London Stadium a couple of days prior, swapping places with Spurs in the relegation zone.

If Tottenham fail to beat Brighton at on Saturday night, regardless of what happens when the Hammers face Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park on Monday evening, they'll remain in the bottom three. The Lilywhites are yet to win a game in the English top-flight this year, so Roberto De Zerbi will be desperate to turn things around before it's too late.

Although the Italian will be under pressure to return to north London with three points this weekend, Alderweireld believes the players need to take accountability. In an interview with ESPN NL, the 37-year-old said: "I think you also need to start looking at pure quality.

FOLLOW OUR TOTTENHAM FB PAGE! Latest Spurs news, analysis and much more via our dedicated Facebook page

"What do big players do? What do quality players do? That is to be decisive at important moments, achieve your level... And that has not been happening all season.

"Players who were acquired for a lot of money but who nevertheless don't deliver, and not in just one or two matches or a period, but throughout the whole season. You just have to conclude that they are not good enough in terms of quality."

Tottenham will be without Romero when they face Brighton, having suffered a knee injury in the defeat to Sunderland. Alderweireld believes that he and the Netherlands international have let Spurs down this term.

"I look at Romero, I look at Van de Ven... They just aren't reaching their level," said the Belgian, who retired in July 2025. "Again, not for a period, but actually for an entire season. Then I also look at Romero who gets red cards too often, doesn't make the right decisions and therefore lets his team down."

Alderweireld doesn't believe Romero and Van de Ven are solely to blame for Tottenham's downfall, however. He continued: "Now you notice that the coach isn't the problem, it's really purely the squad.

"The quality in the squad, the responsibilities of the players. You could always put another coach in charge, but you notice that they just don't deliver what they need to deliver. And that is ultimately just quality."

Alderweireld also appeared to take a dig at Vinai Venkatesham and Johan Lange, claiming there's a 'structural problem' at Tottenham. The former Spurs defender added: "It comes down to shaping the right people, the right team.

"And those purchases have gone wrong, and that has been happening year after year. So that is indeed a structural problem. I have also read that the club is run fantastically from a business perspective, but not as a football club and as a football club everything matters.

"Your value is on the pitch, and that shows what the club looks like. And that's not good."

Roberto De Zerbi has been tasked with saving Tottenham from the drop and the Italian has already made one change from previous regimes

Roberto De Zerbi's Spurs players will not take the team coach to Tottenham Hotspur Stadium before their crunch clash with Brighton. This differs from how Thomas Frank and Igor Tudor had their squad arrive at home matches.

With Tottenham now locked firmly in a relegation battle, they have turned to former Brighton boss De Zerbi to steady the ship. Though his first match in charge, a 1-0 defeat to Sunderland, meant Spurs remain inside the bottom three.

It is De Zerbi's former side that will visit north London on Saturday evening in what is one of many must-win fixtures to come. But unlike under the last two managers, Frank and Tudor, players will arrive earlier before the match and not on the team coach.

Tottenham fans planned a well-attended show of support before Tudor's team clashed with Nottingham Forest in March, with thousands lining the streets as the team bus arrived in N17.

FOLLOW OUR TOTTENHAM FB PAGE! Latest Spurs news, analysis and much more via our dedicated Facebook page

But there will be no such welcome this time around, as confirmed by a fan group, who posted on X: "Contrary to what we had hoped for, the players will not be arriving on the team coach for the Brighton game. We have been in discussion with the club and this is purely a decision taken by Roberto De Zerbi - the players will arrive earlier due to his reasoning.

"He and the club have both apologised for the Coach Meet not taking place. Disappointing, as we had hoped we can welcome them again in thousands, as we try to give them a lift ahead of a vital time for the club.

"However, we purely understand that this is now do or die and we support whatever Roberto sees fit in order for his players to have the best possible preparation.

"We have already been in discussions, as a contingency, in case the Coach Meet did not materialise. It is now a tight turnaround, but other plans are being worked on."

De Zerbi's approach has all but ripped up both Tudor and Frank's arrangements for arriving at matches, but ex-Spurs boss Ange Postecoglou did have his players turn up to matches in their own cars on occasion.

Under Jose Mourinho and Antonio Conte, on the other hand, players would drive to Hotspur Way or a pre-match hotel before boarding the team coach for the game.

Elsewhere in the Premier League, arriving by coach is the status quo. Manchester City and Tottenham's rivals Arsenal both take the team bus to home matches.

Liverpool are another team that utilise the coach, having done so under both Jurgen Klopp and Arne Slot with scores of fans often there at Anfield to welcome their squad during big occasions. It is worth noting De Zerbi generally allowed players to drive to matches during his time at Brighton.

We asked our Tottenham reporters Alasdair Gold and Ryan Taylor to name the team they would pick to face Brighton in the Premier League on Saturday

Tottenham must find a way to win their first Premier League game of 2026 as they welcome Roberto De Zerbi's old team Brighton on Saturday.

Spurs lie perilously in 18th place and two points behind West Ham, three behind Nottingham Forest and six behind Leeds after their surprise win at Manchester United. Now De Zerbi will make his home debut against the Seagulls at a time when his former side are top of the Premier League form table while his current club are bottom of it, and have been for months.

De Zerbi's first game as Tottenham head coach brought a 1-0 defeat at Sunderland and the Italian went for a safe team for his debut at the Stadium of Light.

We asked our Tottenham reporters Alasdair Gold and Ryan Taylor to name the starting XI they would pick to face Brighton in the Premier League on Saturday with the club needing to turn things around.

Alasdair Gold - Tottenham correspondent

Antonin Kinsky should start again with Guglielmo Vicario not seemingly training yet and Kevin Danso will likely replace the injured Cristian Romero in the back four which otherwise kept Sunderland to just Nordi Mukiele's hugely deflected effort.

In midfield I'd go for Archie Gray again but with an unexpected choice alongside him as De Zerbi needs a progressive ball player in the middle of the pitch. Right now that's not Joao Palhinha and it's not the out-of-sorts Conor Gallagher, while Rodrigo Bentancur is not fit enough to start yet.

Yves Bissouma has made just the eight appearances but he will move the ball quickly and forward to where the team need it to be. Taking on his old side Brighton will bring with it a further point to prove and when he's on song, Bissouma can be superb as he was in the final stages of the Europa League last season.

I'd also go with a 4-2-3-1 system that becomes a 4-3-3 so I can fit Lucas Bergvall's energy and running into a role that is kind of the right but tucking in to allow Pedro Porro to get down the flank.

In the number 10 role it has to be Xavi Simons. The Dutchman has created more chances for the north London side than any other player this season, played more than double the amount of through balls, won the third most duels and his expected assists tally (3.56) is far beyond anyone else in the team.

Mathys Tel needs to come back in on the left as he's the only winger capable of beating a man and up top it's a straight shoot-out between Dominic Solanke and Richarlison. De Zerbi believes the former is a crucial player so it could be him who gets the nod.

Gold's team: Kinsky; Porro, Danso, Van de Ven, Udogie; Gray, Bissouma; Bergvall, Xavi, Tel; Solanke

FOLLOW OUR TOTTENHAM FB PAGE! Latest Spurs news, analysis and much more via our dedicated Facebook page

Ryan Taylor - Sports reporter

Tottenham Hotspur have just six matches remaining but they still have a lot of players yet to return to competitive action after injury

Roberto De Zerbi needs all the help he can get at Tottenham as the club fight for their Premier League status with only six games to go.

His predecessors Igor Tudor and Thomas Frank both had to deal with double figures when it came to injury absences in their final weeks in the job and De Zerbi found out the hard way just how ridiculous Spurs' injury problems are by losing two crucial players within his first week at the club.

The 46-year-old will be hoping for some change on the injury front if the club are to finally win a Premier League match in 2026 with a couple of players back in training at Hotspur Way this week to boost spirits.

So what's the latest with those in the Tottenham treatment room ahead of Saturday's big match against De Zerbi's old team Brighton? Here's what we know about every one of De Zerbi's eight injury doubts and their potential return dates.

Rodrigo Bentancur

Bentancur is back in training three months after surgery on a serious hamstring injury in January.

Last month Bentancur's personal fitness coach Daniel Fernandez said that Bentancur would have returned to training by the end of March but would not be realistically available for first-team action until the end of this month if there are no setbacks.

That could be slightly ahead of schedule at Bentancur appeared to be taking a full part in training this week after De Zerbi said last Friday: "Bentancur is working with us but not completely."

It looks like the midfielder could be the first cab off the rank, to use Ange Postecoglou's terminology, although it could just be minutes here and there at first.

Return date: Potentially a bench role against Brighton if it's decided he's ready

James Maddison

Maddison looks to be back with the squad as part of his reintegration into full training after his long battle back from his anterior cruciate ligament injury.

It has been just under eight-and-a-half months since the England midfielder suffered that injury in Seoul, having only come back before that from a medial collateral ligament injury.

Former Spurs interim boss Tudor had previously shared good news on the player when football.london asked if Maddison could be back before the end of the season.

"Yes. Maddison is already doing interesting things as well with the ball. Sprinting as well. I saw him. He is positive. He's positive," he said.

Now it looks like Maddison could yet play a part before the campaign ends. Hopefully he is following Bentancur's ACL recovery timeline rather than Radu Dragusin's one, with the Romanian not playing until 11 months after his surgery. Bentancur also damaged the meniscus in his knee as well as his ACL, which the England international did not.

That's not to say Maddison is going to step straight back into competitive football but it could be that we see him on the bench in a couple of weeks. Bentancur was on the bench a week after Postecoglou revealed he had returned to full training, while Dragusin was involved in competitive football two months later.

Return date: Potentially either of the games against Villa or Leeds in two to three weeks' time

FOLLOW OUR TOTTENHAM FB PAGE! Latest Spurs news, analysis and much more via our dedicated Facebook page

Cristian Romero

Romero's season with Tottenham is over due to that knee injury suffered at Sunderland on Sunday afternoon after Brian Brobbey pushed him into Antonin Kinsky.

No surgery was required but he's not expected back before the end of next month due to the injury in his medial collateral ligament in his right knee. The Spurs captain could 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 spoke to Cuadro Técnico, a television show on Fox Sports, about the injury. As quoted by Argentine outlet Olé, the Argentina assistant head coach said: "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 for the World Cup

Guglielmo Vicario

Guglielmo Vicario underwent hernia surgery 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".

Vicario is a fast healer but was not back in time to face Sunderland and is yet to be spotted in training footage this week which means Kinsky will likely continue to fill in between the sticks.

"Vicario is not ready for this game. I hope he can come back earlier next week, but I don't know yet," De Zerbi said ahead of last week's defeat at Sunderland.

Return date: Perhaps Wolves on April 25

Mohammed Kudus

Kudus had a nightmare just as he was all set to come back. The 25-year-old returned to training after three months out with a serious quad tendon injury only to suffer a setback that has 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."

Return date: Months away

Dejan Kulusevski

Dejan Kulusevski expects to be back playing in time for this summer's World Cup and claimed recently that he's never felt better in his life than he does right now as he closes in on a return from 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.

Then ahead of Sweden's game, Kulusevski delivered more positive news as he targets a return to action almost a year after his initial injury against Crystal Palace in the Premier League last season.

"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 is confident of returning in time for the showpiece tournament in the USA, Canada and Mexico and presumably beforehand to help Tottenham in their Premier League relegation battle.

"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," he said.

Return date: Before the end of May if he is to play at the World Cup

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.

Return date: Unknown

Wilson Odobert

Odobert suffered a ruptured anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee in February. He underwent surgery and is now in the early stages of his rehabilitation with the club's medical staff. He was on crutches at the Forest game.

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 in going through at least nine months or so out of the game.

Tottenham Hotspur and Roberto De Zerbi have just six matches left to avoid relegation from the Premier League, and the Spurs boss is desperate to find a way to galvanise the squad

Roberto De Zerbi has reportedly treated the Tottenham Hotspur squad to a luxury meal in an attempt to bond the group for the run-in.

De Zerbi was appointed by Spurs earlier this month with the task of helping steer the club away from Premier League relegation.

The Italian’s first match in charge ended in a 1-0 defeat away at Sunderland on Sunday – a result which leaves Tottenham in 18th place and two points adrift of safety with six matches left to play.

This Saturday will see Tottenham face De Zerbi’s former club Brighton in the Premier League, and ahead of the fixture it seems that the Spurs boss has made an attempt to improve the morale within the squad.

The Telegraph have reported that De Zerbi treated the Spurs squad to a meal at the Bacchanalia restaurant in Mayfair on Wednesday evening.

The report claims that the purpose of the evening was to improve team bonding within the Tottenham squad, with De Zerbi also encouraging the players to communicate more ahead of the important run-in.

The Bacchanalia has sculptures designed by Damien Hirst, as well as a menu which includes a leg of lamb priced at £130.

The team bonding evening from De Zerbi follows a similar strategy to former Spurs boss Igor Tudor, who also treated the Tottenham squad to a meal before his first match in charge back in February.

De Zerbi has already issued a rallying cry to the Tottenham players ahead of the final six matches of the season as they look to avoid relegation to the Championship.

“First of all, the players of Tottenham are all good guys, and they are suffering for this moment,” De Zerbi said after the defeat to Sunderland.

“They are not happy when we lose the game or they are not happy to see Tottenham at the bottom of the table, for sure.

FOLLOW OUR TOTTENHAM FB PAGE!Latest Spurs news, analysis and much more via our dedicated Facebook page

“But we have to find the energy, we have to find the right spirit to be positive, to think during the week when they stay with me. For sure, they will see a positive coach because I believe in their qualities.

"Because we are Tottenham, but we have not (got the right) to win the game just because we are Tottenham.

“You can't win the game with the paper. You have to win the game showing the quality on the pitch, the fighting on the pitch.

“You have to score the goal, and you have not to concede the goal, for sure. But they are human, and they are suffering maybe too much and altogether we have to stay close, to be positive, to work, to improve in the details, in the football, but to be better as a mentality."

One of Roberto De Zerbi's men has an added incentive in the coming weeks as well as looking to fire Tottenham away from relegation

In case the threat of Tottenham being relegated was not enough to fire up Randal Kolo Muani then the Frenchman has an increased World Cup incentive after the injury to Liverpool striker Hugo Ekitike.

Kolo Muani is on loan this season from PSG and endured a mixed campaign with struggling Spurs. The 27-year-old has just one Premier League goal and one assist in 24 appearances but impressed in the Champions League with four goals and two assists in nine matches in that competition.

Thomas Frank, Igor Tudor and now Roberto De Zerbi have all looked to use the versatile France international this season and he earned a recall to Didier Deschamps' expanded international squad last month after having to pull out of the previous squad in November with his jaw injury.

Kolo Muani, who has made 32 appearances for France and scored nine goals for his country, was unused in the first friendly against Brazil last month but got 27 minutes off the bench in the following game against Colombia.

FOLLOW OUR TOTTENHAM FB PAGE! Latest Spurs news, analysis and much more via our dedicated Facebook page

Ekitike's torn Achilles injury, suffered in the Champions League defeat to Kolo Muani's parent club PSG, means he will miss not only this summer's World Cup in the USA, Canada and Mexico but also likely the remainder of this year.

The Liverpool striker's enforced absence could open the door for Kolo Muani to head to the World Cup if he state his claim by helping Tottenham turn things around in the weeks ahead.

Deschamps is known to be an admirer of the player and said back in November before Kolo Muani had to withdraw from that squad: "I have to make some choices, and from the moment Randal is fit… He’s part of this group for a while now.

"He hasn’t always been at his most clinical, but his work rate and activity have always been high, and he has the ability to play in several positions."

Another Tottenham attacker, Mathys Tel, a key man for France's U21s, might also be hoping that he can catch Deschamps' eye in the final weeks of the campaign and push his claims to be a surprise inclusion in the World Cup squad.

Deschamps said of Ekitike: "Hugo suffered a serious injury on Tuesday evening against PSG. The severity of his injury will unfortunately prevent him from finishing the season with Liverpool and participating in the World Cup. Hugo is one of the dozen young players who have made their debuts with the national team in recent months.

"He had perfectly integrated into the group, both on the pitch and off it. This injury is a huge blow for him, of course, but also for the France team. His disappointment is immense. Hugo will regain his top form, I'm convinced of it. But I wanted to express all my support to him, as well as that of the entire staff. We know he'll be fully behind the France team, and we're all thinking of him very strongly."

The Tottenham Hotspur midfielder was shown in training on Wednesday but caution has been urged over the England international

The images of James Maddison training with his fellow Tottenham players gave hope to supporters but they also arrived with a note of caution.

The 29-year-old has faced a long road back after rupturing his anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee during Spurs' pre-season last year, towards the end of Son Heung-min's farewell game in South Korea against Newcastle United on August 3. Maddison has documented his rehabilitation from those early days after the surgery on his YouTube channel so the fans have been able to go on the journey with him.

His most recent video, filmed weeks before it was released a fortnight ago, showed him taking his first steps back into working with the ball on the Hotspur Way pitches with other players also in rehabilitation. All these weeks on, Wednesday's video footage from Roberto De Zerbi's training session showed Maddison involved in some of it with his first team team-mates and then on Thursday he was again captured with the team as they worked towards Saturday's Premier League game against Brighton.

Relegation-threatened Tottenham and De Zerbi desperately need creativity in the team and Maddison has been a huge part of the club's better performances in recent years before missing all of this season so far. So it is natural that the fans would want him to play some part in the final six matches of the season as Spurs attempt to avoid relegation.

However, caution has been urged around Maddison without any expectation that he is about to step back into Premier League football right now and that is simply part of his reintegration at this stage of rehabilitation.

It has been just under eight-and-a-half months since he suffered that injury in Seoul, having only recently before that game come back from a medial collateral ligament injury into pre-season training.

Players coming back from anterior cruciate ligament injuries take their time after first returning to full training, increasing the load on their bodies with the twisting and turning and eventually contact nature of sessions.

Maddison need only look at two of his team-mates to see the path taken. The most recent, Radu Dragusin, returned to training in September last year, eight months after injuring his ACL in his right knee during Spurs' Europe League win against Elfsborg the previous January.

The Romanian would not play any match football until he got 45 minutes in a behind-closed-doors friendly against Leyton Orient at Hotspur Way two months later. He did not make a Premier League squad until the following month, in December against Liverpool and finally made his competitive return to action in the final five minutes of Spurs' 1-0 win at Crystal Palace on December 28 - the last time Tottenham won a Premier League game.

That meant Dragusin did not return to competitive action for almost 11 months after his ACL injury.

FOLLOW OUR TOTTENHAM FB PAGE! Latest Spurs news, analysis and much more via our dedicated Facebook page

There is also Rodrigo Bentancur who had a swifter timeline and is back in training himself right now after recovering from a serious hamstring injury suffered in January. The Uruguayan also has experience of an ACL injury, picked up on February 11, 2023 in a match against Leicester City.

The midfielder was back in full training with his team-mates in around the same time as Maddison, just shy of eight-and-a-half months after suffering the injury.

Then Spurs manager Ange Postecoglou said on October 20: "We'll be careful with him. He's now fully training so he's into the whole session. We've drip-fed him into training in the last sort of month and he's coped pretty well with that. Now he's in to full training.

"We've got to be mindful that he's missed a fair bit of football. I think the more he trains with the first team over the next few weeks, we'll pick out moment but he's looking good at training. We're looking forward to getting him back."

There was a shock though as Bentancur came off the bench for the final minute of normal time, again in a win at Crystal Palace, on October 27. He would play half hour cameos in the next two games in November before a surprise start against Aston Villa at the end of that month in which he tore ankle ligaments after a challenge by Matty Cash to put him out for another month.

Maddison will be looking at Bentancur's ACL return and hoping to emulate his timeline rather than Dragusin's, although the recovery length is different for everyone and dependant on a range of factors. Much depends on how full his involvement currently is in training with De Zerbi's side.

One boost for Maddison came in his first YouTube video after his surgery when Bentancur explained back then that his recovery was longer than Maddison's would be because he also damaged the meniscus in his knee, which the England international did not.

De Zerbi's predecessor Igor Tudor told football.london that he was hopeful Maddison would play some part this season and the club's vice-captain will be desperate to help the team in these tense final weeks. However, he will also have to be mindful of not placing any risk whatsoever on his body at a crucial time in his career.

In that first video after the surgery Maddison said: "I've already looked [at the average time out], if it's eight months, six months isn't a question. The stage I'm at now, this needs to be right now. I'm 28, I'm going to be 29 when I return, I'm in my prime, really. These are my peak years ahead of me. I need to come back and I need to stay fit. So actually I'm not going to be pushing to say 'oh why are you taking so long', sort of thing.

"But if it gets to eight months and we're flying or whatever, if I'm in the right frame, that will allow me to play this season won't it, towards the end?"

All eyes are on what the answer to that question ends up being and whether Maddison can play any role in the weeks ahead.