De Zerbi confirms Spurs injury absences ahead of first match as boss | OneFootball

Roberto De Zerbi delivered an update on the fitness of his new squad ahead of his first game in charge, including on Mohammed Kudus, Guglielmo Vicario and Rodrigo Bentancur.

The Italian will begin his tenure with a trip to the Stadium of Light as Tottenham take on Sunderland on Sunday. Faced with the tall task of keeping Spurs in the top flight with just seven games to go this season, De Zerbi will have to begin without several key members of his squad.

The club confirmed that Kudus will remain sidelined, saying he “will now require further specialist review and, potentially, surgery” after a setback in training following a quad injury.

“Kudus was in my head a crucial player, especially for the position,” De Zerbi said in his first press conference. “But we have to look forward. I think we have a lot of very good attackers.”

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The Italian also confirmed that he would be without Vicario, after the keeper underwent hernia surgery during the international break.

“Vicario is not ready for this game. I hope he can come back early next week, but I don’t know yet,” admitted De Zerbi. This likely means that second-string keeper Antonin Kinsky will be handed his first chance to play since his disastrous Champions League appearance under Igor Tudor.

As for Betancur, who is still recovering from a hamstring injury, De Zerbi confirmed that he is “working with us but not completely [ready].

“But we are enough to fight and to play and to make points,” he added.

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