Tottenham Faces Key Injuries and Richarlison Saga Ahead of Liverpool Clash

Tottenham’s build-up to their Carabao Cup trip to Liverpool has been rocked on two fronts: by injuries on the pitch and a stand-off off it that now looks beyond repair.

Tonali and Porro ruled out, Udogie returns

Sandro Tonali and Pedro Porro will both miss the tie, leaving Roberto De Zerbi without two key pieces of his spine.

Porro is still battling the muscular problem that kept him out of the goalless draw with Everton, and there has been no late twist in his recovery. Tonali, who did start that game, came away with a knock and has now joined the right-back on the sidelines.

One ray of light for De Zerbi comes at left-back. Destiny Udogie is back in the matchday squad after sitting out the Everton stalemate. His return offers badly needed balance to a back line already stripped of Porro’s energy and delivery on the opposite flank.

Given Tottenham are still chasing their first Premier League goal of the season, losing two starters while trying to build rhythm is a serious disruption.

Richarlison rift deepens

If the injuries were expected bumps in the road, the Richarlison saga has become the unavoidable storyline.

The Brazilian has been omitted from Tottenham’s 25-man Premier League squad, but under Carabao Cup rules he could still have played at Anfield. Any hope of that was quickly shut down.

Asked directly whether Richarlison might feature against Liverpool, De Zerbi’s answer was as blunt as it was brief.

“You already know everything,” he told reporters. “Nothing changed for the Carabao Cup or Premier League. The situation is the same. I can’t say anything more because it’s not my job. I can answer about the results, the players in the squad, the offensive space, the defensive space, but not for the other things.”

The message was clear: as far as the head coach is concerned, the matter is out of his hands.

Contract offer, rejection, and a line drawn

De Zerbi then pulled back the curtain on how the breakdown unfolded. He stressed that he had tried to keep Richarlison at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium and had even pushed for the club to tie him down.

“What I’ve done, at the beginning of this season, was to speak with him, and to propose an extension of the contract,” De Zerbi said. “If he said no thank you, I have finished my job.”

That refusal has proved decisive. Richarlison started the league opener at Brentford, but from there the relationship has only drifted further apart.

A move back to Everton never materialised. Reported interest from Trabzonspor went nowhere. The striker then turned down a switch to Vasco da Gama on Friday. Through it all, De Zerbi has stopped short of pleading.

“I said in the last press conference, I know what happened in the last 45 days. It’s not right if I explained. It’s not my behaviour, it is the relationship and the problem is with [between] the player and the club. And I stay inside of the club. It’s coach and club together because at the start of this season, I spoke with him many times to convince him to stay and he didn’t want to,” he said.

The Italian is siding firmly with the club’s stance and making it clear he will not fight a player’s reluctance.

“I can't go every day to pray for him to stay,” he concluded.

A costly absence at Anfield

On the pitch, the cost is obvious. Richarlison has tormented Liverpool in the past, scoring four times in seven appearances against the Reds for Spurs. In a side still waiting to find its scoring touch in the league, his absence strips De Zerbi of a proven big-game finisher for one of the toughest away trips of the season.

Tottenham now head to Anfield short of Tonali’s control, Porro’s thrust, and Richarlison’s edge. Udogie’s return helps, but the wider question hangs in the air: how long can De Zerbi push this project forward while one of his most high-profile forwards stands firmly on the outside looking in?