Tottenham handed double injury boost as duo step up comeback bids | OneFootball

Spurs confirm pair have both taken big step on road to first-team returns

Tottenham have received a double injury boost after Radu Dragusin and Kota Takai were both handed match action on Tuesday.

Both players started the game in Enfield, with Takai playing the first half and Dragusin - who also played 45 minutes for the U21s against Leyton Orient last month - featuring for 65 minutes as they each built up valuable match fitness.

Takai has yet to make a single first-team appearance for Spurs having dealt with plantar fasciitis in his foot and a thigh injury since completing a £5million transfer from J1 League side Kawasaki Frontale in the summer.

Dragusin, meanwhile, has not played at senior level since suffering an anterior cruciate ligament injury in the Europa League tie against Elfsborg in January and subsequently undergone surgery.

While neither player will feature for Tottenham’s first team away against Newcastle in the Premier League on Tuesday night, they should be available soon to bolster Thomas Frank’s defensive ranks amid a hectic fixture schedule that also sees his side face former club Brentford, Slavia Prague, Nottingham Forest, Liverpool and Crystal Palace before the end of 2025.

Spurs’ backline has been subject to plenty of criticism of late amid a difficult run of form that has heaped pressure on head coach Frank, with 13 goals conceded in just their last four games across all competitions. Captain Cristian Romero will return from suspension against Newcastle.

With Dragusin and Takai taking their latest significant steps on the comeback trail, alongside U21s defender Maeson King, Tottenham’s injury list ahead of the clash at St James’ Park still includes Dominic Solanke, Dejan Kulusevski, Yves Bissouma and James Maddison.

Speaking on Dragusin and Takai last week, Frank said: “Radu, very happy. He has probably been in that for a couple of weeks now.

“Full training, full in, everything. With the team, played his first 45 minutes in nine months, something like that, last Wednesday, I think it was. Very happy with that. Trained fully today.

“Now he's definitely getting very close to being able to be selected. Now it's just a matter of performance and probably just a few more game minutes to be fully available. Kota and Ben [Davies] both trained with the team today, so that's also positive.”