Overview
- Roberto De Zerbi publicly defended Tottenham’s revamped medical and performance staff on Friday, saying he has full confidence in their work despite a prolonged run of player injuries.
- De Zerbi blamed a disrupted pre-season, commercial travel and late returns from the World Cup for leaving players less prepared and more prone to muscle and fatigue problems.
- He cited specific cases to illustrate his point, saying Pedro Porro first felt a hamstring issue during the World Cup and Lucas Bergvall turned his knee in the opening minute of the Manchester United game and later developed pain.
- Several first-team players and summer signings, including Sávio, Mykhailo Mudryk, Destiny Udogie, Lucas Bergvall and others, remain unavailable with the club taking a cautious approach to their returns.
- The injury crisis is slowing integration of new arrivals and adds pressure on selection and sporting leadership after a summer overhaul and poor early results, which keeps scrutiny on De Zerbi and the club’s structure.