Tottenham injury update: James Maddison, Brennan Johnson and Rodrigo Bentancur latest news and return dates
Tottenham will hope that a couple of new injury worries sustained against Arsenal are not serious.
Spurs continued their impressive early upward trajectory under Ange Postecoglou on Sunday, twice coming back from behind thanks to a brace from captain Heung-min Son to draw 2-2 in a thrilling Premier League north London derby at the Emirates Stadium.
Tottenham remain unbeaten in the top-flight under their charismatic new boss, winning four of six to sit fourth and above Arsenal on goal difference - only four points off reigning champions Manchester City in top spot. The Carabao Cup loss on penalties at Fulham remains their only blip so far.
But the hard-fought point at Arsenal may have come at a cost with two important new injury concerns needing to be checked this week ahead of another big showdown with Liverpool at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Saturday.
Here is your latest Tottenham injury news and potential return dates.
Maddison was the star of the show once again for Tottenham on Sunday, assisting both of Son’s equalisers in another influential display for his new team.
However, there was a scare for the England playmaker in the second half of the derby when he went down in pain after appearing to hyper-extend his right knee.
Thankfully for Spurs Maddison was able to get up and continue after plenty of treatment, though he was later replaced by Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg with 12 minutes of the game remaining.
However, it was a worrying moment for the former Leicester midfielder and he will need to be assessed this week and undergo scans to make sure there is no lingering problem.
For his part, Postecoglou sounded confident that the fact Maddison was able to play on suggested the injury was nothing serious, having admitted that he was not 100 per cent going into the game anyway.
Maddison - who left the ground without the need for crutches or an ice pack - himself also did not seem concerned, saying: “I had a little moment where I tackled Jorginho where I jolted my knee a little bit.
“You do not want to ever be playing in a derby where you are not at 100 per cent because it can cost the team, so I had to come off for the last little period.
“I thought the lads were brilliant. We dug deep, showed quality… 2-2 may be a fair result in the end but we left everything out there and you cannot ask any more of the players.”
Potential return date: Liverpool (H) on September 30 or October
Johnson made his first start for Spurs against Arsenal, having joined from Nottingham Forest in a £47.5million transfer on summer deadline day.
It was a bright full debut from the Welsh international, who played a role in Son’s first goal and forced David Raya into a fine stop.
However, he also pulled up with a hamstring problem and was replaced by Manor Solomon shortly after the hour mark.
“Obviously it seems like he felt something. I think hamstring, so we will assess that,” said Postecoglou.
A hamstring issue would surely keep Johnson out of Liverpool’s visit to north London, but it remains to be seen how much time the 22-year-old stands to miss, with Spurs also travelling to newly-promoted Luton before the next international break in October.
Potential return date: October 2023
Heung-min Son
Son was sensational against Spurs, leading by example to notch two equalisers to earn a deserved point and take his goal tally for the season to five in seven apperances - already halfway towards his entire total from last year.
The South Korean did not appear to be suffering from any fitness issues on the day, though Postecoglou revealed after the game that, like Maddison, Son had not been 100 per cent going into the derby.
“Madders and Sonny went into it and they weren’t 100 per cent going into the game, but they got through it - which suggests to me that it is nothing serious,” the Australian said.
Son will be expected to start as usual against Liverpool at the weekend with no midweek Carabao Cup fixture to contend with for Spurs after their early exit.
Potential return date: Liverpool (H) on September 30
Giovani Lo Celso
Lo Celso has only made two appearances for Spurs this season, the last coming in the Carabao Cup defeat at Fulham.
The Argentine midfielder is looking to win back favour at the club under Postecoglou having spent the last season-and-a-half on loan at Villarreal.
However, those efforts are being hindered by a leg issue that continues to limit his involvement.
Speaking ahead of the late comeback win over Sheffield United last weekend, Postecoglou said: “Gio is still working his way back.
“He had a session with us yesterday, but we won't rush him back. It was just good that he got through the session, and the plan now is to reintegrate him.”
It remains to be seen exactly when Lo Celso will be in a position to return, but if his reintegration is successful over the coming weeks then it seems possible that we could well see him in some capacity just after the international break.
Spurst host Fulham in their first game back on October 23, so that seems like a possibility. Crystal Palace away is after that on the 27th.
Potential return date: After the international break
Bentancur has not featured for Spurs since February, having needed surgery on a ruptured anterior cruciate ligament suffered against Leicester.
Fans got excited when the talented Uruguayan midfielder was recently spotted in a training video, though Standard Sport understands that was not a return to training but rather joining in with the warm-up representing the next stage of his rehabilitation programme.
Bentancur went back to individual drills after that and Postecoglou has said that he hopes he could be slowly reintegrated into training over the coming weeks, with Spurs still targeting November for his return to match action after such a lengthy lay-off.
"Everyone from last week is in a good space. In terms of longer ones, two or three weeks away,” Postecoglou said before the Arsenal game.
“Bryan Gil, Lo Celso, Bentancur, hopefully over the next few weeks they will slowly get involved in training."
Tottenham face Chelsea, Wolves and Aston Villa in November, so one of these games could well be the return date for Bentancur.
Potential return date: November
Ivan Perisic
Perisic sadly will not be back on the pitch for Tottenham any time soon and indeed may well have already played his final game for the club.
Out of contract next summer, the versatile Croatian veteran suffered what Spurs described as a “complex ACL injury” in non-contact training last week that requires surgery.
Perisic is now expected to miss the rest of the season.
Potential return date: Next season
Ryan Sessegnon
The injury-plagued Sessegnon suffered a fresh setback in July when it was revealed that he had suffered another hamstring issue during pre-season training.
The left-back, who had not played for Tottenham since February due to an initial hamstring problem, then underwent surgery in a bid to provide a permanent solution to the problem.
Sessegnon has yet to resume first-team training at Hotspur Way and it remains to be seen when he will be available to Postecoglou, with a chance to impress potentially resulting from Perisic’s season-ending injury.
Potential return date: After the international break
Bryan Gil
Gil also went under the knife in August, having surgery to repair a groin injury that scuppered his chance of a summer exit.
Like Lo Celso and Bentancur, Postecoglou is hopeful that the Spanish winger can be successfully reintegrated into first-team training over the coming weeks.
An October return could be on the cards for Gil, but like the rest of Spurs’ long-term absentees it very much depends on how things progress in the weeks ahead.
Potential return date: After the international break
Alfie Whiteman
Academy graduate goalkeeper Whiteman suffered a serious ankle injury during training on Tottenham’s pre-season tour in Singapore in July.
He subsequently underwent surgery and faces many months on the sidelines as he continues his own rehab programme.
Potential return date: Later in the season
