Tottenham's Pre-Season: Key Returns and Worrying Absences

Tottenham’s final pre-season run-out of the summer has the feel of a split-screen story: key returns on one side, worrying absences on the other.

Barely 24 hours after a comfortable 3-0 win over Hoffenheim at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, Spurs are facing the Bundesliga side again on Sunday, this time behind closed doors at Hotspur Way. Saturday belonged to Mikey Moore, who lit up north London. Sunday is about who’s back – and who still isn’t.

Maddison and Fernandes step back into the spotlight

James Maddison starts and finally gets his first minutes of pre-season. It’s been a long road back for the playmaker after the anterior cruciate ligament injury that wiped out most of last season, followed by a recent unspecified issue that delayed his return. Now he’s in from the off for Roberto De Zerbi, a significant step with the Premier League opener at Brentford looming next weekend.

Alongside him, Mateus Fernandes is also in from the start. The £85million signing from West Ham has barely featured this summer after a minor calf problem cut short his involvement on the club’s tour of New Zealand and Australia. His name on the teamsheet is exactly what Spurs fans wanted to see.

Rodrigo Bentancur and Pape Matar Sarr also come back into midfield, adding senior ballast to what is still a patched-together squad. At left-back, January signing Souza starts too, even as speculation continues to swirl about a possible move away from north London.

Kevin Danso, sent off shortly after coming on in that dramatic 2-1 win over Chelsea in Sydney earlier this month, lines up in defence again, joined by the ever-reliable Ben Davies. Brandon Austin gets the nod in goal.

Around them, the kids get another chance. Luca Williams-Barnett, Tye Hall and Damola Ajayi all start, while the bench includes highly rated 15-year-old goalkeeper Mikel Jack – a reminder of just how deep Spurs are dipping into their academy pool.

Big names missing as Brentford looms

For all the positives, the absences are impossible to ignore.

Micky van de Ven and Destiny Udogie remain out and have yet to play a single minute of pre-season. For a side that leans heavily on their athleticism and recovery pace at the back, their continued absence a week before the league campaign begins will worry supporters and coaching staff alike.

Up front, Dominic Solanke is missing again. He hasn’t featured since playing 45 minutes against Chelsea on August 1 in his second outing of the summer. In attack, where rhythm and sharpness matter most, that lack of game time is a concern.

Mohammed Kudus is also still not ready to return, even though he has re-joined training after recovering from a serious quad injury. Dejan Kulusevski, sidelined since May 2025 with a knee problem, is back working with the squad too, but his competitive comeback is not imminent.

On the right flank, Pedro Porro has yet to feature at all in pre-season. The defender only returned this week from an extended break following Spain’s World Cup triumph, leaving him short of minutes and Spurs short of one of their most aggressive outlets down the right.

So Tottenham head towards Brentford with Maddison finally on the pitch, Fernandes easing his way in, and a clutch of senior names edging closer but not quite there. The question now is simple: can De Zerbi knit this patched-together group into something ready for the real thing in just seven days?