Tottenham is staring down an international break, but honestly, it’s the same nightmare they had before: too many guys hurt, no goals, and ZERO league wins. They’re stuck right there in the relegation zone, and there’s no quick fix when your key players are dropping like flies. This isn’t just bad luck, it’s a full-blown crisis, and the latest blow with Pedro Porro just twisted the knife.
Porro’s Crushing Setback and a Manager’s Frustration
Remember Pedro Porro? The guy we thought was finally back after missing the Everton draw and Liverpool defeat with a “small muscular problem”? Well, he returned against Aston Villa, and get this, he broke down again inside 15 minutes! Talk about a gut punch. De Zerbi, the manager, has been talking about Porro’s workload since Spain’s World Cup win in North America this summer. He had extra rest, sure, but has only started three club matches since his return. Now, De Zerbi’s saying, “I said after the World Cup, I said the management of Pedro should be different. Because after the World Cup, [there are] many games. I don’t know what the problem is. It’s a hamstring, I think. Hopefully, it’s not a big problem.” That doesn’t exactly sound confident, does it? They’re already missing so much creativity and pace, and losing a senior guy like Porro, or only getting fragments of him, forces De Zerbi to constantly patch holes. It’s a squad management issue, not just medical. Caution is the working assumption; rushing a hamstring would be a disaster. He might be back Saturday, October 10, against Manchester United away.
The Sidelines Are Stacked and Hope Is Fading
And Porro isn’t even the worst of it. Dejan Kulusevski is still stuck on the sidelines thanks to that serious kneecap injury that wiped out his entire 2025-26 season. He’s training with teammates, a step, but still not available with no confirmed return date. Even Sweden manager Graham Potter left him out, saying Tottenham makes the call since they see him daily, and until he’s in matchday squads, it’s all guesswork. Then there’s Mykhailo Mudryk, a Tottenham loanee who, after returning from a doping ban, made his first competitive appearance since November 2024 against Nottingham Forest, only to suffer an ankle injury in training. De Zerbi reportedly called it “stupid,” you can feel his mood. Mudryk’s looking at six to eight weeks out, likely late October or early November, potentially back Saturday, October 31, against Crystal Palace. And let’s not forget Xavi Simons, the Dutch attacker still recovering from an ACL injury suffered at Wolves last season. That’s the worst kind of injury, a really long road back.
How many more hits can this squad take? They’re down to the bone in terms of creativity, pace, and continuity, and the injury list just keeps growing. With Pedro Porro potentially back for that Manchester United clash on October 10, and Mudryk hopefully for Crystal Palace on Halloween, every week is a desperate fight for De Zerbi to cobble a competitive team. Right now, this team is in the relegation zone with zero wins, and they need to turn this around. The whole league is watching to see if they can escape this injury nightmare.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Yahoo Sports.
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