De Zerbi's team news ahead of Leeds trip: injury blows but boost on return, plus praise for academy starlet
Roberto De Zerbi has been giving Tottenham supporters the latest from the treatment room ahead of Saturday's lunchtime trip to Elland Road, with a mixed bag of news on the injury front.
Football.London reports that the head coach confirmed a "triple" injury blow as part of a wider five-player update going into the game against Leeds United (Football.London). That's offset by some more positive news elsewhere, as Spurs Web says De Zerbi confirmed one previously sidelined player is now ready to return for the Leeds game, with Lucas Bergvall and Savio both mentioned as part of that squad update (Spurs Web). Between the two reports, it sounds like De Zerbi has a selection headache of sorts - some players coming back into contention just as others drop out.
Away from the first team picture, there's an encouraging story for the academy, with ESPN reporting that De Zerbi believes rising star Luca Williams-Barnett is now ready to be trusted with starts rather than just appearances off the bench (ESPN). It's the kind of endorsement Spurs fans will want to see, with the head coach apparently rating the youngster highly enough to suggest he could soon be pushed into first-team contention.
Taken together, the three reports paint a picture of a squad in transition before a tricky away day in Yorkshire: De Zerbi dealing with fresh fitness concerns, welcoming at least one body back, and also casting an eye towards giving a promising youngster more regular minutes. Exactly which of the "triple" injury issues from Football.London overlaps with the player Spurs Web says is now fit isn't entirely clear from the reports, so fans will want to see the teamsheet on Saturday to know exactly who's available for the trip to Elland Road.
With Tottenham needing to navigate a Premier League fixture against Leeds before any focus turns to the weekend's other action - Tottenham Women hosting Brighton on Sunday - the make-up of De Zerbi's matchday squad will be the key talking point right up until kick-off.
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.
