Mixed news has arrived for winless Tottenham ahead of their Premier League meeting with Everton.
Roberto De Zerbi has confirmed that James Maddison will be back for Tottenham against Everton, while also bemoaning the “stupid” injury suffered by Mykhailo Mudryk and disclosing that Dejan Kulusevski is not training with the squad at present.
Maddison has not featured for Spurs since sustaining a fractured shoulder last month after coming on as a second-half substitute in the disappointing 3-0 loss to Brentford on the opening weekend of the Premier League season.
It marked another irritating setback for the midfielder, who missed most of last season because of an anterior cruciate ligament injury picked up during the summer.
But after missing matches against Charlton, Newcastle and Nottingham Forest, with Tottenham’s reshaped medical department taking a more cautious line on injuries this season, Maddison is once again in contention to face Everton on Saturday evening.
“Maddison, yes (he will be back),” Spurs head coach De Zerbi said during his pre-match press conference on Friday.
When asked whether Maddison could start, he said: “I’m happy when all my players are available. It is maybe a problem for me because my decisions are not easy. But I want to manage all players together.”
Spurs will be without Mudryk for between four and eight weeks after an injury suffered following his debut from the bench in last weekend’s goalless draw at Nottingham Forest. It was his first competitive appearance since November 2024 after he resolved his anti-doping disciplinary case with the Football Association (FA).
Tottenham loanee Mykhailo Mudryk could now be out for as long as two months.
The Ukraine winger took a blow to his left ankle in training earlier this week and has been seen wearing a protective boot.
The setback has come just over a week after Mudryk arrived on a season-long loan from rivals Chelsea, and it leaves Spurs light in attacking areas after they also approved Mikey Moore’s loan move to Cologne on Deadline Day.
“He felt pain in his ankle, and then after two days he made the medical check, and we knew the problem,” De Zerbi said. “But after a long time we knew.
“Stupid injury, but we are not stupid. We knew when we signed Mudryk, we knew it could be difficult to come back as a normal player.”
Expectations of an imminent return for Kulusevski had increased earlier this week when Sweden manager Graham Potter said he was “very close” to playing after being sidelined since May 2025 by a serious patella injury.
The former Juventus player had resumed full first-team training with Tottenham at the beginning of last week and was then included in De Zerbi’s Premier League squad, though he had to stop a few days later because of a minor issue.
“No, Kulusevski is not working with us in the last week,” De Zerbi said in another update on Friday. “Not a big problem, a normal problem when one player is out for a long time.”
Mohammed Kudus is now back available for Tottenham after previously being out since January with a quad injury, with De Zerbi confirming that the Ghana forward is “very close to being ready to start the game [against Everton].”
Spurs, who are 17th, are still without a win and have yet to score in the Premier League this season despite heavy summer spending. Everton’s trip to north London also brings back memories of Tottenham’s dramatic win on the final day of last season, when they narrowly avoided a damaging relegation to the Championship at West Ham’s expense.
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