There’s a mixed injury picture as Tottenham get ready for their Premier League opener at Brentford. Mateus Fernandes, James Maddison, and Destiny Udogie have all trained ahead of the weekend fixture, though Micky van de Ven remains a doubt for the trip.
Roberto De Zerbi has some nervous waiting to do over several key men as the season begins. Maddison and Fernandes have had carefully managed training loads, while Van de Ven and Udogie sat out all of the preseason friendlies entirely.
Udogie is being brought back cautiously after a run of muscle problems last season, and Maddison is following a similarly careful path back from last summer’s ACL injury. Even so, both are hoping to be involved against Brentford, alongside new signing Fernandes, who’s been carrying a calf issue.
Van de Ven remains more of a worry, though. The Dutch defender — who recently signed a big new contract at the club — wasn’t seen training at Hotspur Way and didn’t feature in any preseason games after returning from the World Cup, making his availability for Saturday look doubtful.
Dominic Solanke is another doubt, having been eased through preseason sparingly following an injury-hit campaign that saw him battle ankle and hamstring issues for much of last season.
Spurs travel to the Gtech Community Stadium on Saturday evening looking to make an early statement after a busy summer in the market, having spent £237 million on six new arrivals as they try to put last season’s 17th-place finish behind them.
Standing in their way is a Brentford side full of confidence after a strong first season under Keith Andrews, who’ll be hoping to push the Bees toward European qualification for the first time in the club’s history.
