Tottenham have a new injury worry ahead of the Premier League's return, with summer signing Jan Paul van Hecke forced to withdraw from Netherlands duty after going down in a training session on Wednesday. He follows fellow defender Pedro Porro in pulling out of international commitments.
Van Hecke's early return
Van Hecke, who joined Spurs from Brighton in a £52million transfer, has played every minute of the Premier League season so far and started all but one of the club's seven games across all competitions. He played the full 90 minutes in the Netherlands' opening Nations League matches against Germany and Serbia, but was forced to leave a training session after just seven minutes on Wednesday.
The defender has now returned to Tottenham, with Netherlands boss Xavi revealing the issue stems from an incident in the Serbia match. “During the match against Serbia, someone stepped on him,” Xavi said. “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.”
Porro's hamstring setback
Porro missed Spain's clash with England at Wembley after withdrawing from Luis de la Fuente's squad with a hamstring injury suffered against Aston Villa. The right-back was replaced after just 19 minutes in that game, having made only his third start of the season following a previous muscle issue.
Reports suggest the latest injury will sideline him for around a month, with Porro said to be working with specialist fitness coaches in Spain at the SPZ Iron Training Club. If that timeline holds, he could return at home to Coventry on October 19 or in the London derby at Chelsea on October 24.
Kulusevski and other sidelined stars
Dejan Kulusevski has not played since May 2025 due to a serious right patella injury that required surgery, though he resumed full first-team training earlier in September. “We have to manage Deki in the best way we can, with the medical staff, physical staff, but it's a great thing for us,” head coach Roberto De Zerbi said recently. “He's a good player, he's a good guy and he deserves to play again.”
Mykhailo Mudryk, a loan signing from Chelsea on Deadline Day, has made just one competitive appearance due to an ankle injury. Xavi Simons is sidelined after rupturing the ACL in his right knee in April, with a return not expected in 2026. Wilson Odobert, who ruptured the ACL in his left knee in February, could potentially play some part in late November.
