Tottenham Faces Injury Setbacks Ahead of Liverpool Clash

Tottenham’s build-up to their Carabao Cup trip to Liverpool has been jolted by a fresh injury setback and a deepening stand-off with Richarlison.

Sandro Tonali has joined Pedro Porro on the sidelines after picking up a knock in Saturday’s goalless draw with Everton, a game Porro had already missed with a muscular problem. Both are now out of the midweek tie, stripping Roberto De Zerbi of two key pieces of his starting XI.

Porro’s absence removes one of Spurs’ main attacking outlets from right-back. Tonali’s withdrawal bites into the heart of midfield. For a side still hunting their first Premier League goal of the season, losing that platform is no minor detail.

There was at least one shaft of light. Destiny Udogie is back.

The Italy international, who sat out the stalemate against Everton, is set to return to the matchday squad and ease the strain on a defence that will already be without Porro on the opposite flank. Udogie’s availability restores some balance to De Zerbi’s back line at a time when the schedule is starting to tighten.

But injuries were only half the story.

Richarlison dominated the pre-match press conference, even though he will not be anywhere near Anfield. Left out of Tottenham’s 25-man Premier League squad, the Brazilian could technically have been used in the Carabao Cup, where those registration rules do not apply.

De Zerbi shut that door immediately.

Asked outright if the former Everton forward might feature against Liverpool, the Italian gave a short, sharp reply: “You already know everything. Nothing changed for the Carabao Cup or Premier League. The situation is the same. I can’t say anything more because it’s not my job. I can answer about the results, the players in the squad, the offensive space, the defensive space, but not for the other things.”

The message was unmistakable. Richarlison is out of the picture.

De Zerbi then sketched out how the situation had unravelled. He revealed he had tried to keep the striker at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium at the start of the summer, even going as far as proposing a contract extension.

“What I’ve done, at the beginning of this season, was to speak with him, and to propose an extension of the contract,” De Zerbi said. “If he said no thank you, I have finished my job.”

From that point, the relationship moved towards the exit door. Richarlison started the league opener away at Brentford, but was later told he could leave. A return to Everton never materialised, links to Trabzonspor faded, and on Friday he turned down a move to Vasco da Gama. The stalemate has hardened.

On the pitch, his absence is not trivial. Richarlison has a habit of troubling Liverpool. Four goals in seven appearances against the Reds in a Spurs shirt underline the threat Tottenham are losing for this tie, at a moment when De Zerbi’s team are still waiting for their first league goal of the campaign. A proven finisher in a fixture of this intensity is exactly what they do not have.

Off the pitch, the tension is clear, even if De Zerbi refuses to spill every detail. He stressed that this is not a personal feud, but a breakdown between player and club.

“I said in the last press conference, I know what happened in the last 45 days. It’s not right if I explained. It’s not my behaviour, it is the relationship and the problem is with [between] the player and the club. And I stay inside of the club. It’s coach and club together because at the start of this season, I spoke with him many times to convince him to stay and he didn’t want to,” he said.

That line drew a firm boundary. De Zerbi will fight to keep players who want to be part of the project. He will not chase those who do not.

“I can’t go every day to pray for him to stay,” he concluded.

So Tottenham head to Anfield short of Tonali, Porro and Richarlison, still searching for rhythm, still searching for goals. The injuries may clear in time. The Richarlison saga feels far less likely to heal.