Mateus Fernandes' training absence explained ahead of Coventry clash
Tottenham fans were left puzzled this week after Mateus Fernandes appeared to be missing from the club's recent training footage, but the mystery now seems to have been cleared up ahead of the Coventry game.
Football.London reports that the Portuguese midfielder was "conspicuous by his absence" in footage released from Spurs' training sessions as the squad headed out to their Marbella training camp (Football.London). Spurs Web picked up on the same concern, noting that fans "were worried Mateus Fernandes had suffered an injury" after he was "completely absent from the club's recent training images and videos," before adding that his absence "has been solved" (Spurs Web). Neither outlet gives further detail in the snippets on exactly what the explanation was, but both frame it as a non-injury issue that supporters can now stop worrying about.
That reassurance is backed up by looking ahead to the next fixture. Spurs Web's predicted lineup piece for the Coventry match states plainly that "Mateus Fernandes returns to the XI" (Spurs Web), suggesting he is fit and available again rather than carrying any fresh knock. This fits with the earlier suggestion that his mysterious absence had been resolved (Spurs Web).
Elsewhere, the Evening Standard's team news preview for the same Coventry fixture focuses more broadly on Tottenham's overall squad situation, highlighting that the club "will hope to have Pedro Porro and Dejan Kulusevski available," with Kulusevski continuing his recovery after being "out of action since May 2025" (Evening Standard). The Standard's snippet does not specifically mention Fernandes, so it is not possible to say whether their assessment of his availability matches Spurs Web's inclusion of him in the predicted XI.
Taken together, the picture painted by Football.London and Spurs Web is that Fernandes' disappearance from training clips caused a stir among supporters, but it was nothing serious enough to keep him out of contention (Football.London) (Spurs Web). Spurs Web's follow-up suggests he is now expected to start against Coventry (Spurs Web), while the Evening Standard's team news update shows Tottenham's bigger fitness concerns are centred on Porro and Kulusevski rather than Fernandes (Evening Standard).
Fans will likely find out for certain whether Fernandes starts once Spurs' official team news is confirmed before kick-off against Coventry.
Written with the help of AI, using the headlines from the publishers credited above. Each point links to the original report — tap the source name to read it in full.