Spurs have carried out a serious assessment of their efficiency and medical departments, which included an investigation into whether or not the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium’s retractable pitch is contributing to the membership’s ongoing harm disaster.
Tottenham misplaced essentially the most days to harm of any Premier League facet this season, whereas Spurs gamers missed a mixed 370 video games throughout all competitions as a consequence of harm this marketing campaign – essentially the most of any top-flight facet.
The membership’s failure to maintain gamers match almost led to their relegation as Roberto De Zerbi’s facet dramatically wanted a final-day dwelling win over Everton to safe their Premier League security.
Highlights from the Premier League match between Tottenham Hotspur and Everton
It’s a second consecutive injury-hit season for Spurs, who’ve misplaced essentially the most days and video games to harm of any Premier League facet because the begin of the 2024/25 marketing campaign.
A crippling harm record has performed its half in back-to-back Seventeenth-placed finishes for the world’s ninth-richest soccer membership.
It’s understood the membership’s new efficiency director, Dan Lewindon, has accomplished a radical assessment of the harm subject after three months within the job, and the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium retractable pitch is an space of concern.
The intense knee accidents to Dejan Kulusevski and Radu Dragusin got here at dwelling final season, whereas James Maddison partially tore his anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) in final Might’s dwelling win over Bodo/Glimt, earlier than a full rupture three months later in pre-season in South Korea.
Tottenham attacker Dejan Kulusevski has been out injured for a 12 months
This season, Ben Davies broke his ankle in January’s dwelling defeat to West Ham, whereas Wilson Odobert ruptured his ACL within the dwelling loss towards Newcastle.
Spurs ahead Wilson Odobert suffered an ACL harm earlier this season on the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium
It’s understood Tottenham frequently perform exterior unbiased testing on their dwelling floor to evaluate the bounce of the pitch in comparison with that of their coaching pitch, however to this point the outcomes are inconclusive.
Nonetheless, additional detailed testing is deliberate within the coming weeks to analyse whether or not there’s a distinction of their dwelling floor in comparison with different Premier League pitches.
Tottenham’s investigation comes with Actual Madrid’s new retractable pitch additionally within the highlight.
Because the Santiago Bernabeu’s reopening, the 15-time European champions have suffered a spate of ACL accidents.
Eder Militao is one in all a number of Actual Madrid gamers to have suffered an ACL harm on the Bernabeu since its reopening
Stories in Spain declare Actual are investigating their pitches at each the Bernabeu and their Valdebebas coaching floor.
Whereas the Bernabeu has solely been totally reopened for 3 years, Spurs have been enjoying at their £1bn state-of-the-art stadium for the previous seven years, with accidents solely changing into an actual subject within the final two seasons.
Spurs set to introduce new system to fight accidents
Because the begin of the 2024/25 marketing campaign, Tottenham have suffered 123 accidents – solely north London rivals Arsenal (146) have suffered extra within the Premier League in that interval.
A number of Spurs gamers have additionally had harm setbacks previously two seasons, together with Mohammed Kudus this marketing campaign.
Spurs’ non-executive chairman Peter Charrington promised there can be a “important deal with elevating requirements throughout medical and efficiency” in an open letter to followers on Monday.
Lewindon’s assessment is known to have uncovered structural points inside the efficiency set-up of the membership.
There’s a perception that there’s a lack of integration, communication and shared decision-making, which has led to accidents and harm reoccurrences.
A better degree of help for gamers individually is needed by Tottenham head coach De Zerbi.
This has prompted Lewindon to construct a small-team strategy whereby as much as six gamers are assigned a physio, which permits higher-quality programming and higher choices made round a participant’s coaching design and bodily preparation.
Tottenham defender Cristian Romero was left in tears after a season-ending harm at Sunderland
Tottenham are additionally seeking to appoint a psychologist for the lads’s group, with the concept that this may enhance communication.
One other think about Spurs’ harm disaster has been the variety of managerial adjustments on the membership.
Spurs have had 4 completely different head coaches within the house of a 12 months – Ange Postecoglou, Thomas Frank, Igor Tudor and De Zerbi – which has led to altering calls for on the gamers.
It’s believed these differing coaching strategies and ways have created an elevated threat of harm to the Spurs gamers.
Spurs reject criticism over dealing with of Simons’ harm
Xavi Simons suffered an ACL harm in April’s win at Wolves
Spurs boss De Zerbi misplaced a participant to harm in every of his first three video games, with Cristian Romero struggling a season-ending harm within the loss at Sunderland, Future Udogie selecting up a muscular subject within the draw towards Brighton, and Xavi Simons struggling an ACL harm within the win at Wolves.
However the dealing with of Simons’ harm drew criticism from some Spurs supporters after the attacking midfielder was given ice spray and despatched again on the pitch earlier than ultimately being stretchered off with the season-ending harm.
Simons was stretched off at Molineux
It’s understood Lewindon was very glad with the medical group’s dealing with of the state of affairs.
Simons wished to proceed at Molineux, and with an ACL take a look at exhausting to carry out at pitchside, the choice to permit him the chance to return to the sport was deemed appropriate by the membership.
It’s understood no extra harm was performed to Simons, who is about to return subsequent season when Spurs can be hoping their harm disaster has been resolved.
Maddison requires inquest into Spurs’ harm issues
Maddison has known as on Spurs to research the “astronomical” harm issues which have plagued the squad this season.
The playmaker, restricted to a few appearances off the bench on the finish of the marketing campaign, is one in all six Spurs gamers to have had a severe knee harm since January 2025.
Talking after Sunday’s final-day win over Everton, Maddison mentioned: “Our state of affairs with the accidents has been worse than another membership.
“Individuals try to say, ‘Oh, however we have got this and that’. However ours is astronomical, and we have to take a look at why that’s.
“Typically it might simply be unfortunate, typically it may be a coincidence, like me doing my ACL or [Dejan] Kulusevski getting a horrendous knock off [Marc] Guehi.
“That is not the medical group, that is not the pitch or all of the theories that you just see, typically that is garbage.”
Maddison believes Spurs, who solely confirmed their Premier League security on the ultimate day, would by no means have been in that place if that they had their key gamers match.
“We have been a bit unfortunate,” Maddison added. “However like I mentioned, the massive names that we have missed, it does have an effect on you and you’ll’t simply deny that.
“Myself, Kulusevski and [Mohammed] Kudus, and [Rodrigo] Bentancur missed three months and whatnot. Should you had had them for the entire season, we would not have been on this state of affairs, I strongly imagine.
“That is simply not me being naive, that is only a truth. However it’s the state of affairs we discover ourselves in, and I’m simply happy with the lads to dig deep immediately.”
