Tottenham Faces Creative Challenges as Injuries Pile Up

Tottenham finally have a point on the board. They still don’t have a goal.

A goalless draw at Nottingham Forest stopped the early-season bleeding after 3-0 and 2-0 defeats to Brentford and Newcastle, but it also underlined a glaring problem: this team is missing its No10s, and badly.

At the City Ground, Conor Gallagher and Mateus Fernandes toiled between the lines, chasing spaces that James Maddison and Xavi Simons usually see before anyone else. The structure was there. The spark wasn’t.

There was at least one piece of good news. Savio and Destiny Udogie, both eased back into the side, came off around the hour mark as part of a planned, cautious reintroduction. No fresh injuries, no drama. For a squad already stretched in key attacking areas, that matters.

Now the focus inside Hotspur Way is simple: get the creators back.

James Maddison edging closer

Maddison remains the headline absentee. The playmaker damaged his shoulder against Brentford on the opening day, another setback after the ACL injury that wrecked his previous season.

He came off the bench at the Gtech Community Stadium as he tried to rebuild sharpness, but he did not make the trip to Forest. Even so, there is a tangible shift in mood around his recovery. Maddison is back in full team training, back in the rondos, back in the passing patterns. That alone lifts the place.

Tottenham are hopeful he will be ready when Everton visit north London on September 12, 2026. Circle it. If all goes to plan, that could be the day their attacking blueprint finally looks complete again.

Dejan Kulusevski’s stop-start return

Dejan Kulusevski is on the grass again, though his comeback is being handled with extreme care.

The Swede is returning from a serious patella injury that has already cost him close to 18 months of football. He started working with the group at the beginning of last week, only for a minor issue to halt that progress over the final two days before Forest.

Roberto De Zerbi explained that small setback but stressed the wider picture remains encouraging. Kulusevski is moving in the right direction, the medical staff are happy, and the head coach is openly impatient to have “Deki” back in his matchday squad.

For now, there is no firm date on when that will be. Tottenham will not rush him. They can’t afford to.

Xavi Simons ruled out for the year

The outlook is far more brutal for Xavi Simons.

The Dutchman tore his ACL against Wolves in April last season and will not play again this year. His absence has left a hole right in the part of the pitch where Spurs look thinnest, and the lack of a natural No10 has been brutally exposed in the opening weeks.

Simons has still been visible around the squad in a supporting role, but any return to competitive action is a long way off. The expectation is that he will not be back until early 2027.

Wilson Odobert on the comeback trail

Wilson Odobert knows that road only too well.

The French winger also suffered an ACL tear last term, yet his recovery is slightly ahead of Simons’s. Tottenham believe he has a realistic chance of playing again before the end of 2026, offering some long-awaited depth in the wide areas.

If that timeline holds, Odobert could re-emerge just as the season hits its decisive stretch.

For now, Spurs must grind through without their full creative arsenal. The clean sheet at Forest brought some stability. The real question is how long they can live without the players who turn possession into chances, and chances into wins.