Roberto De Zerbi has been busy reshaping his Tottenham squad through the transfer window this summer, and alongside the incoming signings, the head coach is also getting some welcome fitness updates as pre-season progresses.
The north London club have brought in six new faces so far, with Sandro Tonali, Mateus Fernandes, Martin Dubravka, Andy Robertson, Marcos Senesi and Jan Paul van Hecke all arriving as Spurs continue building their squad for the campaign ahead. Yet alongside the transfer business, the fitness situation of existing players has been just as important a talking point, with the club keen to have as full a squad as possible ready for the season opener.
There’s now some positive news on that front, with both Mohammed Kudus and Dejan Kulusevski having been seen back out on the training pitches at Hotspur Way. Both players have faced extended absences, with Kudus sidelined since January and Kulusevski having missed well over a year of action, and the medical team at Tottenham has taken a cautious approach to bringing them back given how serious their respective issues were.
New training footage has now emerged showing the Ghana international and his Swedish teammate involved in jogging exercises and work with the ball, with both looking to be moving freely as their rehab continues.
Getting back onto the training pitch represents a meaningful step forward for both men, who will now progress into the next stage of their recovery as they build towards being available for selection again this season.
Reporter Alasdair Gold has since offered more detail on where Kulusevski stands in his recovery. According to Gold, the Swede remains in the midst of his rehabilitation after being out for around 15 months, and while he’s now doing individual work, he hasn’t yet trained with the rest of the squad. The plan at Tottenham is to bring him back into full training slowly, so as not to risk any setback following such a long spell out.
De Zerbi also gave his own thoughts on Kulusevski’s situation, striking an optimistic tone but making clear he wasn’t going to rush the winger’s return. He described Kulusevski as one of the squad’s strongest options when fully fit, and said that while he didn’t want to pile pressure on him to speed up his rehab, he was hopeful the player could be back in contention sooner rather than later.
