Tottenham may have suffered a major blow in their Saturday lunchtime defeat to Leeds United. The Athletic reports that Mathys Tel left Elland Road on crutches after being substituted in the first half.
Tel was at the centre of the game’s biggest controversy when Jayden Bogle caught him with a poor challenge. After a lengthy VAR review, John Brooks’ original no-card decision stood. The Frenchman tried to continue but was taken off two minutes before the break, unable to carry on after the challenge on his Achilles.
Spurs went on to lose to a late Noah Okafor winner, their first defeat in four games, though Bogle’s escape remained the main talking point. Former Premier League referee Mike Dean said on Sky Sports’ Soccer Saturday that it was definitely a red card, and plenty of others seemed to agree. De Zerbi will be frustrated that his side lost the chance to play most of the game against ten men, and even more annoyed if Tel is out for a significant spell.
The Athletic reported on X that Tel was seen hobbling to the team coach on crutches and wearing a protective boot while the media waited to speak to Leeds defender Tarik Muharemovic. There has been no official word on how long he might be out, but De Zerbi said he fears the 21-year-old has suffered a bad injury. Crutches and a boot are always a worry. After a stop-start campaign, Tel had started Tottenham’s last three league games and scored in the 2-0 win at Chelsea last month.
The one silver lining is that De Zerbi has options to replace him. Mohammed Kudus started on the right at Elland Road but can also play on the left, and Dejan Kulusevski, James Maddison and Luca Williams-Barnett were all on the bench. The manager will also hope summer signing Savio is closer to fitness after the international break, having missed recent weeks.
Spurs also have two weeks until their next match, at home to Ipswich Town, which gives Tel extra recovery time if the problem turns out to be less serious than it looks. What’s clear is that De Zerbi needs a much better display against the Tractor Boys, as Tottenham were second best for long spells against Leeds. A Bogle red card might have changed the game, but Spurs simply need to be better if they want to climb the table.
