Roberto De Zerbi has explained why a number of senior Tottenham players – including Micky van de Ven, Kevin Danso, Jan Paul van Hecke and Dominic Solanke – have not featured across the club’s three pre-season friendlies so far, despite travelling as part of his 35-man squad to New Zealand and Australia. James Maddison, Destiny Udogie and others have also yet to kick a ball on tour.
Speaking to football.london, De Zerbi was direct about the reasoning: a combination of World Cup recovery, jet lag, and injury history means he is not prepared to expose those players to unnecessary physical risk at this stage of the summer.
De Zerbi Names the Players and the Reasons
The head coach specifically cited Danso, Van de Ven, Solanke and Jan Paul van Hecke as players he judged not yet ready to play without risk. For players such as Udogie and Solanke, he pointed to long injury absences last season as a primary concern, warning that rushing players back from serious fitness problems – compounded by the demands of international travel – is precisely the kind of gamble he intends to avoid.
“Maybe in the beginning Robertson and Sandro Tonali, but it’s the management of the players, especially after World Cup or after big injuries like Udogie or Solanke. They suffered long injuries last season, and after a long trip, after the jet lag, after the beginning of the pre-season, I wouldn’t like to take any risk.”
There is some positive news buried in the caution: De Zerbi hinted that some of the group could be eased into Saturday’s tour finale against Chelsea in Australia, possibly from the bench rather than from the start.
Where the Rest of the Squad Actually Stands
De Zerbi was candid that fitness levels across the squad are far from uniform. Speaking again to football.london, he suggested players such as Archie Gray, Ben Davies, Conor Gallagher and Mathys Tel are among those already capable of contributing 70 to 80 minutes, while others – including Sandro Tonali, named alongside Robertson as a possible Chelsea starter – are still building towards that threshold.
“Like Mathys Tel, like Richarlison, Manor Solomon and other players. They are working to increase their condition, but I think all teams, also Chelsea, also Liverpool or other teams with a lot of players who played in the World Cup, I think they are spending the same time.”
The heavy reliance on academy players across the three friendlies so far is a direct consequence of this situation, and De Zerbi was at pains to note that rival clubs managing large World Cup contingents are navigating the same compressed timeline. The Chelsea game this weekend will at least give a clearer picture of who is genuinely close to match-ready.
