Tottenham Hotspur [https://roundtable.io/sports/soccer/premier-league/tottenham] could receive a significant fitness boost before welcoming Everton to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Saturday, although Roberto De Zerbi remains without several attacking players, as they look for their first goal and win of the 2026-2027 season. James Maddison Maddison has returned to team training and could be available against Everton, provided he does not suffer another reaction to the shoulder injury sustained during Tottenham’s opening-day defeat at Brentford. The midfielder only recently returned from an anterior cruciate ligament injury that ended his 2024/25 campaign. He appeared from the bench at Brentford but missed the subsequent matches against Newcastle United and Nottingham Forest. Maddison will be assessed throughout the week before a final decision is made, with Roberto De Zerbi likely to field questions on this during Friday’s pre-match press conference. His return would give De Zerbi a natural creative midfielder after Spurs struggled to create clear chances in the goalless draw at Forest. Potential return: Everton, Saturday 12 September. Dejan Kulusevski Kulusevski has resumed some training with the first team but suffered what De Zerbi described as a “small problem” towards the end of last week. The Sweden international has been sidelined for almost 18 months following a serious patella injury during a Tottenham [https://roundtable.io/sports/soccer/premier-league/tottenham]game with Crystal Palace. Spurs continue to manage his rehabilitation carefully and have not set a firm timescale for his competitive return. De Zerbi remains positive about his progress but admitted Kulusevski’s latest issue temporarily prevented him from training with the squad. Like Maddison, the Italian will likely field several questions on the later problem to the Swedish international during Friday’s press conference. Potential return: Unknown. Xavi Simons Simons remains a long-term absentee after suffering an ACL injury against Wolverhampton Wanderers in April. The Dutch midfielder is expected to miss the remainder of 2026 as he continues his rehabilitation. He has remained with the first-team squad during his recovery, but Tottenham [https://roundtable.io/sports/soccer/premier-league/tottenham] do not expect him back until early next year. Potential return: Early 2027. Wilson Odobert Odobert is also recovering from an ACL injury sustained last season. The French winger is believed to be further ahead in his rehabilitation than Simons and could return before the end of the calendar year. Spurs will not rush Odobert back, especially following the club’s summer review of its medical and performance operation. Potential return: Late 2026. Savinho and Destiny Udogie There are no fresh injury concerns surrounding Savinho or Udogie. Both players were withdrawn shortly after the hour against Nottingham Forest as part of Tottenham’s new injury-prevention policy and should be available to face Everton. Tottenham Hotspur recently introduced a more cautious injury-prevention strategy following a major summer review of the club’s medical and performance operation. This was in effect at the weekend, with both players withdrawn on the medical team's advice as Spurs manage their workloads. Dan Lewindon, the Club's new Performance Director, headed the review.
