Tottenham Faces Injury Challenges Ahead of Premier League Opener

Tottenham’s new season starts with a headache before a ball has even been kicked.

Micky van de Ven and Pedro Porro have both been ruled out of Saturday’s Premier League opener away to Brentford, stripping Spurs of their new captain and first vice-captain for the curtain-raiser in west London.

They have now been joined on the sidelines by Pape Matar Sarr, who has suffered a hamstring issue just days before the trip.

Speaking on Friday, Roberto De Zerbi confirmed the setback. “Micky is not on the list for tomorrow, like Pedro Porro,” he said. “Pape Matar Sarr no, because he felt some pain in his hamstring today. Nothing serious, but we don’t take risks.”

Van de Ven’s situation is at least more reassuring for the longer term. “Today, he worked the group, and he is going very well,” De Zerbi explained. “He suffered a problem during the pre-season of Australia, I don’t know if it was the flight, but not a big problem.”

The immediate problem, though, is Brentford. With Van de Ven and Porro both out, Spurs are deprived of the two players at the top of their leadership group for the opening game. De Zerbi namechecked defensive options, insisting he still has cover.

“We have [Marcos] Senesi, we have Ben Davies and in the right condition to play the game tomorrow,” he said.

Ben Davies is officially third in the hierarchy, but he is not expected to start on Saturday, while fourth-choice leader James Maddison is still short of full match sharpness.

That leaves 18-year-old Archie Gray, fifth on the list, in line for a remarkable responsibility: deputising for Porro at right-back and potentially walking out with the captain’s armband on the opening day of the season.