Tottenham handed major injury boost but key fears grow for season opener

Tottenham remain without a host of key players for their final pre-season friendly of the summer against Hoffenheim on Sunday, though James Maddison and Mateus Fernandes both start.Roberto De Zerbi’s team for that fixture features a number of players who were absent from the initial friendly, with Maddison in from the start to make his first appearance of pre-season following an unspecified issue that followed his recovery from an anterior cruciate ligament injury that ruled him out for most of last term.The return of Fernandes is also a welcome sight for Tottenham fans after the new £85million signing from West Ham had limited involvement following a minor calf problem that curtailed his role in their pre-season tour of New Zealand and Australia.Midfielders Rodrigo Bentancur and Pape Matar Sarr also return against Hoffenheim in Enfield, as does Brazilian left-back Souza, their January signing who has already been linked with a move away from north London. Brandon Austin is in goal, while there are starts for talented youngsters Luca Williams-Barnett, Tye Hall and Damola Ajayi, and a youthful bench featuring highly-rated 15-year-old goalkeeper Mikel Jack.However, with their Premier League opener away at Brentford coming up next weekend, Spurs supporters will be concerned to see Micky van de Ven and Destiny Udogie still absent, with the defensive duo having not played a single minute of pre-season between them.Striker Dominic Solanke is also not involved again having not featured since getting 45 minutes against Chelsea in his second summer outing on August 1, while Mohammed Kudus is not yet ready to return to action after re-joining training following his recovery from a serious quad injury.Dejan Kulusevski has also been back in training after a knee injury that has kept him sidelined since May 2025, though his comeback is expected to remain a while off yet.Pedro Porro has also not been involved at all for Tottenham in pre-season, though the right-back only returned from an extended break following Spain’s World Cup triumph earlier this week.Read MoreGuglielmo Vicario does not feature again, with the former first-choice goalkeeper expected to follow the likes of Cristian Romero and Djed Spence in leaving Spurs before the transfer deadline.