Tottenham will be without Savio and Lucas Bergvall for their big meeting with Coventry City, though Roberto De Zerbi has confirmed Dejan Kulusevski will return to the matchday squad.
Spurs came away from Manchester United last weekend with a deserved 1-1 draw, and De Zerbi then took his players to Marbella for a warm-weather camp. The aim was to get them ready for Monday night’s home game against Frank Lampard’s side, with the club still hunting its first Premier League win of the season.
Speaking before the match, De Zerbi explained that both players picked up knocks before the squad flew out. Savio felt a muscle problem on Tuesday, just ahead of the Marbella trip, and the manager said he will be out for a few weeks. Bergvall hurt his knee at Old Trafford during the early move that created a chance for Dominic Solanke. He seemed fine afterwards, but when he reported to the training ground on Sunday it was clear he would need around two weeks out.
There was better news on Kulusevski, who will be named among the substitutes. The Swede hasn’t featured for Spurs in over 500 days because of a serious knee injury. He played in a closed-doors game during the recent international break and was at Old Trafford last weekend to back his teammates. De Zerbi said the medical team gave the green light, called it the best news the club has had since the Everton game, and said Kulusevski had suffered far too much. He added that the winger was beaming when he was told the day before.
Richarlison also came up in Sunday’s press conference after the Brazilian seemed to take a swipe at De Zerbi on social media. Former Everton caretaker boss Duncan Ferguson had criticised how the Spurs manager has treated the striker this season, and Richarlison, who has been left out of the first-team squad and made to train and play with the U21s, thanked his old manager for standing up for him.
De Zerbi brushed the issue aside, saying it is no longer his concern and that questions should go to Vinai or Johan. He stressed that he hasn’t made any decision on the matter, and that his door is open from early morning until evening if Richarlison wants a conversation. Beyond that, he said, his entire focus is on the Coventry game.
