De Zerbi backs Tottenham medical staff as Kulusevski and Maddison doubts for Chelsea derby

Roberto De Zerbi has publicly backed Tottenham Hotspur’s medical staff despite a deepening injury crisis that threatens to leave him short-handed for Saturday’s Premier League derby at Stamford Bridge.

Dejan Kulusevski and James Maddison are doubts after disrupted training this week, having both featured in Monday’s win over Coventry. Destiny Udogie remains sidelined, and Tosin Adarabioyo may not recover in time. Pedro Porro’s return does offer some relief, but fitness problems have been a persistent theme throughout De Zerbi’s tenure and in recent Spurs campaigns.

“It’s football. I am convinced our medical staff this season is high level,” De Zerbi said. “I follow them. I believe in them. I have big confidence because I know how they are working. We are suffering a normal situation in football.”

The Italian head coach was keen to contextualise the individual cases rather than point fingers. He noted that Porro had suffered a hamstring problem during the World Cup before the season began, then aggravated it by returning to action too soon. On Lucas Bergvall, De Zerbi explained the Sweden midfielder turned his knee in a tackle during the Manchester United match, finished the game, and only felt significant pain the following day. “What is the responsibility of the medical staff? Nothing,” he said.

De Zerbi also addressed Andy Robertson’s fatigue after the Liverpool left-back played six games in 20 days for club and country. “At the end of this season we make the total report and we analyse the situation, but so far we can’t say anything bad about the medical staff.”

Beyond the injury concerns, Tottenham face a daunting historical record at Stamford Bridge, where they have won just once in 41 visits. De Zerbi, however, has personal experience of bucking that kind of trend — he guided Brighton to a victory there in 2023 — and drew on an even older memory to frame the challenge.

“When I was the coach of Foggia, League Three against League Two, many, many times Foggia did not win in the Bari stadium, but it was one motivation more, not one pressure more,” he said. “And yes, we won in 2015.”