Roberto De Zerbi has insisted Tottenham’s medical staff bears no responsibility for the numerous selection issues he faces against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge on Saturday where his club will attempt to win for only the second time in 42 matches in all competitions. The head coach has been boosted by the return of Pedro Porro from injury while he reported that Andy Robertson, Omar Marmoush and Dominic Solanke were “good” in light of fitness concerns. De Zerbi had bad news elsewhere, however, saying Destiny Udogie was still out and Tosin Adarabioyo was a doubt.
James Maddison did not train for three days after the home win over Coventry on Monday and may not be ready, while caution will remain the watchword with Dejan Kulusevski, who played his first minutes since May 2025 against Frank Lampard’s side. De Zerbi could be without nine players due to injury when the longer-term absentees are factored in, including Lucas Bergvall and Savio. Rodrigo Bentancur is suspended.
Spurs appointed a new performance director last season in Dan Lewindon and he oversaw a clutch of new hires in the performance department in July. De Zerbi made the point that the club would make a “total report” on injuries at the end of the season but “so far we can’t say anything bad about the medical staff”. I have big confidence because I know how they are working and they are good enough to believe in.
We are suffering a normal situation in football.” De Zerbi went into detail on the cases of Porro, Bergvall and Robertson to reinforce his argument. He already suffered in the World Cup the muscular problem of the hamstring. He felt it in training and played anyway against Aston Villa [on 29 September] because he pushed to come back before the right time and he suffered another injury.
What is the responsibility of the medical staff? He finished the game and the day after he felt pain. Robertson played four games in a row for Scotland [during the recent international window] and after that felt a small problem and did not play in Manchester.
He played 65 minutes against Coventry and was fatigued. It’s normal fatigue for a player who played [so much].” On Spurs’s terrible record at Stamford Bridge, De Zerbi said: “What is the problem? We didn’t play in the past for Tottenham and I was not the Tottenham coach in the last seasons.
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