Roberto De Zerbi gave his press conference in front of the assembled media ahead of Saturday’s (once again) critical Premier League match at home against his former club, Brighton and Hove Albion. And while nothing he said was particularly NEW, we did get a couple of confirmations about player ability.
First off — confirming what we already knew: Cristian Romero’s MCL knee injury means that while it isn’t as serious as it could be he still won’t recover in time to play in any of Spurs’ remaining Premier
League matches. He’s out for the season, and De Zerbi said that the player is “suffering” because “he loves Tottenham.”
“Romero I’m really sorry for him, for his injury. Romero, first of all loves Tottenham and the people have to know he is suffering for this injury. He is suffering because he can’t play anymore for us this season but he is a great captain for us, for Tottenham.
“But we have to be anyway positive. We have Radu Dragusin and Kevin Danso. They are available to play, to play well, to give us quality with the ball and to be strong in the defensive phase. We can win anyway and we want to win anyway.”
Now, I think it’s safe to say that Kevin Danso will be the one to slot beside Micky van de Ven and not Radu Dragusin, but it is at least a little comforting that we have two senior CBs available to slot in if necessary. Danso has been a steady hand at the wheel this season whenever Romero’s been out due to injury or suspension, and I expect that will continue.
De Zerbi then went on to address James Maddison, who was photographed working in full training for Spurs this week. The Tottenham manager didn’t want to get drawn into speculation, noting that Mohammed Kudus’s recent setback and noting that it was because the club perhaps pushed him too fast in his recovery.
“I don’t know [about Maddison], I don’t know yet. I don’t want to push too much because we lost Kudus in this way. I used to waiting the players when they are available, totally available to play and to restart the training. Because it’s better to lose one game more than to take a risk for another new injury.”
De Zerbi then confirmed that Guglielmo Vicario is still out recovering from his recent surgery, but Rodrigo Bentancur and Yves Bissouma are both available to play vs. Brighton tomorrow. Whether Bentancur will or not is an open question; I’d suggest he’s much more likely to start on the bench and come in as a second half substitute for minutes, but that’s just a guess.
“Bentancur is available to play. I don’t know if he will start the game or not. Bissouma is available 100 per cent, more than the Sunderland game.
“Vicario no. Vicario is another top guy and I’m looking forward to working with him. Anyway Kinksy played very well against Sunderland but Vicario is another important player for us. Big experience, big character, big personality and we are waiting for him.”
De Zerbi also said he took the players out to dinner this week to continue to foster a spirit of community and togetherness.
“Yes I don’t know if we win the game for dinner but I know we eat very well and the food was amazing. And if we win, I’m ready to pay every week one dinner.
“I believe in the people. I believe in the human relationship. I believe in the spirit. I believe in the soul of the players. Before we speak about tactical dispositions, style of play, defensive phase, with the ball, without the ball, set-pieces. All of these things are important but first of all I work with people with their problems.”
And there’s more good news in Operation Tottenham Good Vibes — Spurs legend, Master of the Dark Arts, and current assistant coach at Sevilla Erik Lamela will be present at Saturday’s match and will appear pre-match for an interview.
Can’t wait to see him again, and hopefully he nicks a few water bottles on his way out and flips Danny Welbeck the bird. That’d be great. Miss u Coco.
