Tottenham finished a tough week on a high with a big win at Southampton that was not without a fresh injury scare.
After setbacks for Cristian Romero and Micky van de Ven against Chelsea, amid concerns over Ben Davies and Guglielmo Vicario having been ruled out for months, a bad set of injuries quickly unravelled into a crisis.
So the sight of Destiny Udogie coming off against Southampton, in the same game Archie Gray and Djed Spence were already deputising, would have sent alarm bells ringing.
Here is all the latest Tottenham injury news and return dates...
Destiny Udogie
Ange Postecoglou was left fearing the worst when Destiny Udogie was forced off just half an hour into Sunday's win at Southampton.
The Spurs boss quickly brought on Pedro Porro, who he had hoped to rest, while Djed Spence moved from right flank to left to cover.
Postecoglou revealed after the game that Udogie felt tightness in his leg so he was taken off as a precaution. He told reporters: "We'll see how he is. He felt a bit tight in his quad.
"To be fair, he wanted to continue but we can't take any risks at the moment. I don't think it's anything significant at this stage and more precautionary."
Potential return date: Thursday, December 19 vs Manchester United
Micky van de Ven
Van de Ven was a shock starter against Chelsea, lasting 79 minutes upon his return from a hamstring injury before being replaced by Archie Gray, having required treatment to the back of his leg.
It prompted fears of another hamstring injury but Postecoglou said after the game that Van de Ven's withdrawal was "nothing serious", adding: "The plan was always for Micky to play 60, 70 [minutes] today, so we were always going take him off.
“He didn't feel anything significant. He just felt tightness, but we were always going to take him off anyway.”
However, Van de Ven was ruled out of the trips to Rangers and Southampton and continues to be assessed ahead of Thursday’s cup clash.
Postecoglou said on Friday: “Without getting too technical, you need to let the injury settle down before you get a real prognosis so it will probably be next week some time with Micky and Cristian.”
Potential return date: Unknown
Cristian Romero
Romero lasted less than 15 minutes against Chelsea, with Spurs 2-0 up, before being forced off and replaced by Radu Dragusin. Romero left the pitch with his shirt over his face and subsequently missed the draw at Rangers and win at Southampton.
“He felt something in his quad,” Postecoglou said after the loss to Chelsea: “He trained really well. He wasn't the one I was worried about, to be honest, but it's just the way the season's going for us unfortunately. So we just have to wait and see.”
Reports in Argentine claim Romero will miss the remainder of December but Postecoglou hopes to have a more concrete timeline this week.
Potential return date: Unknown
Ben Davies
In a rare bit of positive injury news, Davies should be back sooner than expected.
The left-back was forced off against Bournemouth with a hamstring injury which looked to sideline him until January, but Postecoglou hopes to have the experienced left-back available sooner.
He said on Friday: “It’s not as bad as we thought. There is a chance he’ll be back, hopefully, before the new year. So, that was positive.
“Again, initially, we were a bit worried but you need to give it a week to settle down. The latest information I got this morning that it’s nowhere near as bad as we thought it was and hopefully a quicker turnaround.”
Potential return date: Saturday, January 4, 2025, vs Newcastle
Guglielmo Vicario
Tottenham’s goalkeeper suffered a blow to his ankle in the first half against Man City but played on and finished the game, making a string of fine saves in the process.
However, he was seen limping when exiting the Etihad Stadium, with Spurs then revealing that he had undergone surgery on a fractured right ankle.
Vicario himself took to social media to reveal that he had played with the issue for an hour against City, making his performance all the more impressive.
The Italian international looks set for an extended spell out, with no timescale on his potential return as deputy Fraser Forster fills in.
Potential return date: Unknown
Mikey Moore
Mikey Moore’s last appearance came at the end of October in the Carabao Cup against Manchester City.
The teenager has been out since then with illness and Postecoglou made it clear earlier this week that the club will not rush Moore back.
“It's just that he's a young lad and he's only 17, and he's a big part of this football club, and we will protect him, and we'll be guided by how he feels, how he recovers from, you know, an illness,” Postecoglou said.
“Like I said, young people will recover at different rates. He'll be back. He's still here. He's part of what we're doing, and he'll be back in the next few week.”
Potential return date: Unknown
Richarlison
A frustrating time of things on the injury front continued for Richarlison after he suffered a hamstring injury during the win over Aston Villa last month.
The Brazilian is not expected back until the New Year.
“Hopefully, he'll be back in the New Year but, again, similar to Micky [Van de Ven], we've got to be careful every step of the way,” confirmed Postecoglou.
Potential return date: January 2025
Wilson Odobert
Summer signing Wilson Odobert is facing an extended spell on the sidelines after suffering a “serious” setback in his recovery from a hamstring injury.
A club statement released on November 16 said: “We can confirm that Wilson Odobert underwent surgery to his right hamstring yesterday
"The 19-year-old will continue to be closely monitored by our medical team to determine when he can return to training."
Potential return date: Unknown
