Tottenham Faces Injury Challenges in De Zerbi's First Test Against Brentford

Tottenham’s new era under Roberto De Zerbi begins on Saturday evening with a short trip across London to Brentford – and a long injury list in tow.

The Italian has spent the summer ripping up and rebuilding a squad that has stumbled to 17th place in back-to-back Premier League seasons. Hopes of a clean, sharp reset are clear. The reality, at least for the opening day, is messier.

De Zerbi’s first test: a patched‑up Spurs

Up to 13 players could be missing for the clash, with the bulk of those absences coming from the Tottenham side. De Zerbi will walk into his first league game already juggling fitness concerns and selection compromises.

On Friday, he confirmed that key defender Micky van de Ven and right-back Pedro Porro are both out of contention.

“No, Micky is not on the list for tomorrow, like Pedro Porro and the other players are all inside,” De Zerbi said. “James Maddison is inside, Dominic Solanke is inside, Udogie is inside, Mateus Fernandes is inside.

“Pape Sarr, no, because he felt pain two days in his hamstring. Nothing important, but we don’t take risk with him and especially in this moment.”

The message is clear: Tottenham will not gamble on fitness, even with the season’s curtain-raiser looming.

Van de Ven had rejoined group training and pushed to prove his readiness, but De Zerbi is refusing to rush him. The Dutchman picked up an issue during Spurs’ pre-season trip to Australia.

“Today he worked with us, with the group and he is going very well,” De Zerbi explained. “He suffered a problem during the pre-season of Australia, I don’t know if it was the flight, but not a big problem.

“We have Senesi, we have Ben Davies and in the right condition to play the game tomorrow.”

So Maddison, Solanke, Destiny Udogie and Mateus Fernandes are “inside” the squad, but how many of them are truly at full tilt remains uncertain. De Zerbi will have to balance ambition with caution from the first whistle of the campaign.

Star quality stuck on the sidelines

Tottenham’s longer-term injury picture bites even harder.

Dejan Kulusevski, Wilson Odobert, Xavi Simons and Mohammed Kudus are all still sidelined, stripping De Zerbi of a huge chunk of creativity and cutting edge.

“I think it's important also the management of the players, when the players have some problem, we have to stay calm, don't take risks,” he said.

“We have Kulusevski, we have Odobert, we have Xavi Simons, injuries. Kudu is almost ready, that is a big point for us, but these three players are top players for us, and we're looking forward to watch them on the pitch.”

“Kudu” – Kudus – edging closer to a return offers a sliver of light, but the here and now is harsh. For a side trying to shake off the weight of two seasons spent looking over their shoulders, losing that calibre of player before a ball is kicked is a brutal start.

Brentford’s cleaner bill of health

On the other side, Brentford’s problems look relatively minor.

Keith Andrews is without Antoni Milambo and Sepp van den Berg, but the scale of disruption is nothing like De Zerbi’s headache.

Milambo continues his recovery from an ACL injury, though his progress has encouraged the Brentford boss.

“Antoni is a few weeks behind with the [ACL] injury,” Andrews said. “It’s not an exact science, naturally, but he’s had a really positive couple of weeks. He’s been training with the group for a number of weeks – sometimes modified, sometimes full training. He’s making really good strides.”

Van den Berg, meanwhile, is nursing a groin issue.

“We’ve had to manage that in a certain way,” Andrews added. “He needs a little bit more rest, unfortunately. He’s had a disjointed pre-season – it hasn’t flowed as well as we’d have liked – so we’re going to have to look after him in the short term. He’ll miss the first few weeks of the season.”

So Brentford arrive with a largely settled group, at home, against a Tottenham side reshaped, bruised and already stretched.

De Zerbi came in to change the direction of a club stuck in reverse. The question now is simple: can this patched-up Spurs side make that turn start at Brentford, or will the season’s first chapter already feel like more of the same?