Tottenham Injury Update: Maddison, Udogie Return for Premier League Opener

Tottenham have been handed a timely boost before their Premier League opener at Brentford, with Mateus Fernandes, James Maddison and Destiny Udogie all back in training. The worry? Micky van de Ven is still nowhere to be seen.

New head coach Roberto De Zerbi has spent much of pre-season juggling fitness concerns across his first-team squad. Maddison and Fernandes have had their minutes carefully rationed, while Van de Ven and Udogie didn’t feature at all in the warm-up games.

Udogie’s workload is being tightly controlled after a run of muscular problems last season. Maddison is on a similar programme as he builds back towards full sharpness following the anterior cruciate ligament injury he suffered last summer. Both are pushing hard to be involved at the Gtech Community Stadium on Saturday evening, with summer signing Fernandes also targeting a place in the squad after a recent calf issue.

The mood is less optimistic around Van de Ven. The Netherlands defender, fresh from signing a lucrative new contract, was not spotted in training at Hotspur Way and has yet to play a minute under De Zerbi since returning from the World Cup. With no pre-season action behind him, he now looks unlikely to feature against Brentford.

There is another concern up front. Dominic Solanke, who missed most of last season with ankle and hamstring problems, has been used sparingly in pre-season and is also a doubt for the opener.

Spurs head across London looking for more than just three points. After an aggressive summer in the market, spending £237million on six new signings, the north London club want a statement performance – and a clean break from the scars of last season’s 17th-place finish.