Roberto De Zerbi has confirmed that Destiny Udogie will miss Tottenham ’s huge relegation clash away to Wolves this weekend.
Reports surfaced on Thursday that the 23-year-old, who has only just returned from a hamstring injury, had sustained an unspecified knock and was a doubt for Saturday’s trip to Molineux.
De Zerbi has now confirmed the news, but is hopeful that Udogie will only miss one game.
"Destiny has a problem, I think he can't play tomorrow,” the Spurs head coach confirmed on Friday.
"I'm sorry because he played a great first half, the second half as well, but the first one was great.
“But we have Spence, Souza is available to come with us, it's not a big problem.
I hope Destiny can be available next week in Villa Park."
He added: “It's a muscular injury but not so important.
He didn't play for a long time and it can happen at the beginning when you start to feel something of this problem.
“I have a big opinion about Destiny and he's a crucial player for us."
Guglielmo Vicario is also a doubt ahead of Spurs’ trip to Wolves, having yet to feature under De Zerbi following hernia surgery.
De Zerbi had said he expected Vicario to be back in training at the start of this week, but when asked for an update on the goalkeeper’s fitness, he said: “No, Vicario is not available for tomorrow.
“I hope I can work with him from Monday."
Pape Matar Sarr also remains sidelined with a shoulder problem.
De Zerbi explained: “He felt pain in the shoulder and this week he didn't work with the group.
He's not available to play."
James Maddison was a surprise name on the bench against Brighton last weekend for his first matchday squad appearance since suffering a serious anterior cruciate ligament injury.
Inside my dressing room I want to see nice people, positive people and it's important also for his team-mates
Spurs suffer referee nightmare as Premier League admit major mistake
Tottenham great Hughton reveals prostate cancer diagnosis
Tottenham XI vs Wolves: Confirmed team news and predicted lineup
Art After Dark is back with an exciting calendar of cultural events
De Zerbi has now confirmed that Maddison is still not fit to play, with his involvement down to having more leadership on the bench.
He said of the midfielder: "No, he's not available yet, especially this week he felt pain but it's not such an important problem.
“Tomorrow he'll come with us on the bench because it's important if he plays or not.
It doesn't matter, it's better if he plays for sure, but also as a guy, as a leader, as a positive guy.
The north London club are two points from safety with five games to play as they prepare to face Wolves, whose relegation to the Championship was confirmed on Monday following West Ham’s 0-0 draw with Crystal Palace.
Related Stories
Source: This article was originally published by Evening Standard
Read Full Original Article →
Comments (0)
No comments yet. Be the first to comment!
Leave a Comment