Tottenham boss Thomas Frank has confirmed defender Destiny Udogie is being assessed for a knee problem which could make him a doubt for the start of the new season, while summer signing Kota Takai has suffered a foot injury.
Left-back Udogie was withdrawn following the warm-up ahead of Spurs’ friendly against Luton on Saturday, and then did not travel with the rest of the squad to Hong Kong for the week-long pre-season tour of Asia.
Spurs face European champions Paris St Germain in the Super Cup on August 13 ahead of starting the new Premier League season at home to promoted Burnley.
Frank, though, is likely to have to do without Italy international Udogie and revealed Japan defender Takai had picked up a foot issue.
“Destiny got a knee injury (in the warm-up at Luton on Saturday) that we are assessing at the moment, that has kept him out of this pre-season tour,” Frank said at a press conference in Hong Kong on Tuesday.
“Kota got a plantar fascia injury, unfortunately we don’t know the scale of it – weeks.”
The travelling squad for our pre-season tour of Hong Kong and Korea has been confirmed 📋
— Tottenham Hotspur (@SpursOfficial) July 27, 2025
There was, though, more positive news on England forward Dominic Solanke, who missed the Luton friendly with a minor ankle issue, but has made the trip to Asia.
Spurs are preparing for Thursday’s north London derby against Arsenal at the Kai Tak Stadium before heading to South Korea to play Newcastle in Seoul on Sunday.
“Dom is looking much better, progressing,” Frank told SPURSPLAY. “We will see if it is too early for Arsenal, but we are positive about him.
“Madders (James Maddison) is looking better and better, could also be too early for Arsenal, again, we will see. Rodri (Rodrigo Bentancur) is back from illness, so that’s good.”
Former Spurs boss Ange Postecoglou had to deal with several injury setbacks last season, which saw their Premier League season tail off amid a successful Europa League campaign.
Frank, though, feels there can only be so much done to try to mitigate against picking up more fitness problems down the line.
“I know about the injury issues, but it is a problem for every club in the world,” Frank said at a press conference.
“We have a good and long pre-season so we can push the players, we are aware how we want to train, we need to be aligned on how we want to play and train.
“There are gym sessions, recovery and the ability to compete in all tournaments. We are aware and we will make a few adjustments so we can compete.”
Frank again addressed issues over the future of captain Son Heung-min, who has entered the final 12 months of his contract and attracted interest from Los Angeles FC.
“Right now, Sonny is here and I’m very happy for that,” the Dane said.
“He has trained well. I said in the last press conference that he is showing great character.
“He played the last two friendlies. He is in the squad, he will train today (Tuesday). What I am focusing on is he is a Tottenham player.”
