Roberto De Zerbi will be without several players for Tottenham’s clash with Chelsea.
Roberto De Zerbi will be hoping to get one of his big Tottenham Hotspur players back when the side lock horns with Chelsea at the weekend.
Spurs moved up to 16th place in the Premier League with a 3-1 win over Coventry City on Monday night. Goals from James Maddison, Omar Marmoush and Ben Davies secured a massive three points at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, with the fans at the ground saving the night’s biggest cheers for Dejan Kulusevski, who came off the bench to make his comeback after a 17-month injury layoff.
Currently managed by Xabi Alonso, Chelsea have started the season well under the Spaniard and are currently in fourth place. They moved all three points clear of Everton thanks to a 2-0 win on Saturday and De Zerbi will know how tough the Blues will be.
Tottenham are also expected to be backed for the clash at Stamford Bridge as Pedro Porro continues his recovery from the injury he suffered against Aston Villa on September 19. The World Cup winner limped off after just 19 minutes and has missed the last two matches as well as all of Spain’s internationals during the three-week break.
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Porro took to social media last week to announce he was “almost back” by sharing a video of himself leaping from a sitting position onto a chest-high plyometric box at Tottenham’s refurbished Hotspur Way first-team gym.
football.london He said last month that the Spaniard could return either for the game against Coventry or, if not, for the trip from the capital to Chelsea. We asked De Zerbi before the win over Coventry on Sunday and he confirmed which one it was, saying: “Pedro, I think he will come. Maybe he can play at Chelsea.”
Porro’s return would be a huge boost ahead of the clash against the Blues, especially as De Zerbi has a number of other fitness issues to contend with. Destiny Udogi missed the win over Frank Lampard’s side with a knee injury, De Zerbi said before the match: “Destiny Udogi played 70 minutes. [against Man Utd] and he had a problem with his knee and we didn’t risk it.”
Andy Robertson, Tosin Adarabioyo and Omar Marmoush limped off in the win over the Sky Blues, although De Zerbi did not believe they were seriously injured. “No, no, no, I think no injuries, nothing important,” said De Zerbi, keeping his cards close to his chest.
Elsewhere, Lucas Bergvall, Mykhailo Mudryk and Savio are nursing and won’t be back in time to face Chelsea, while Xavi Simons and Wilson Odobert are still recovering from anterior cruciate ligament operations. Rodrigo Bentancourt was suspended after the red card he received in the game against “Manchester United”.
Top Tottenham players to miss Chelsea clash: Xavi Simons (knee), Odobert (knee), Udogi (knee), Bentancourt (suspended), Bergvall (knee), Mudric (ankle), Savio (muscle problem).