Tottenham Hotspur are hoping to welcome back several key players ahead of their trip to Nottingham Forest on September 5, 2026, following a 2-0 defeat to Newcastle United on Saturday.
The loss extended Spurs' poor start to the season, but there was positive news on the injury front. Micky van de Ven, Pedro Porro and Mohammed Kudus all returned to action, while head coach Roberto De Zerbi revealed after the match that Kevin Danso, Richarlison and Pape Matar Sarr had all asked to leave the club before the transfer deadline on Tuesday.
Savio and James Maddison close to returns
The big omission from the Newcastle match was Savio. The recent recruit from Manchester City was expected to make his full league debut following his £75million arrival, but he was left out of the matchday squad. De Zerbi explained that the winger had suffered muscular fatigue after his goalscoring debut against Charlton in the Carabao Cup, and the Italian hoped the Brazilian would be available for the Nottingham Forest trip.
James Maddison has been ruled out of the last couple of matches with a shoulder fracture suffered against Brentford on the opening day, having recently recovered from a long-term ACL injury. He missed both the Charlton and Newcastle games but could return for the visit to the City Ground.
“James has not a big problem, but pain in his left shoulder,” De Zerbi said last week. “He’s working. We have to find the right plan. We have to work consistently for three, four weeks, and then he's a different player.”
Kulusevski and long-term absentees
Dejan Kulusevski has not played for Tottenham in a year and a half due to a serious kneecap problem, but the club have released footage of him back in training. De Zerbi said recently: “I hope, and I will be very, very happy to see Kulusevski in (the squad list), and I want to put him on the list because he is working very well, very hard. If he feels good like now, he’s improving day by day. It’s great watching him during the season and also because he deserves it. He suffered too much for his career for his age, for his level of human.”
Dutch international Xavi Simons is unlikely to return until at least March or April next year after rupturing his ACL against Wolves before the end of last season. The attacking midfielder has not featured since April and remains out for a lengthy period.
Young forward Wilson Odobert also tore his ACL last term and is working his way back to fitness. The Frenchman is thought to be ahead of Simons in his recovery, with a potential return before the turn of the year.
