Roberto De Zerbi was confirmed as Tottenham’s new manager on Tuesday with Spurs suffering a potential injury blow on the same day
09:12, 01 Apr 2026Updated 11:24, 01 Apr 2026
Tottenham Hotspur have been handed a fresh injury concern(Image: PA)
Tottenham Hotspur have been handed a fresh injury concern as Roberto De Zerbi prepares for his first match as the club’s new manager. Spurs confirmed the appointment of De Zerbi on Tuesday, with the 46-year-old agreeing a long-term contract to move to north London.
De Zerbi will have more than a week to prepare for his first game as Tottenham boss, which will be on April 12 against Sunderland as they travel to the Stadium of Light for the Premier League clash.
Tottenham have been battling injuries for most of the season, and it seems that De Zerbi has been handed a fresh concern on his first day in the job.
Spurs star Pape Matar Sarr was unable to feature for Senegal in their friendly against Gambia on Tuesday evening.
Reports in Senegal have claimed that Sarr was left out of the squad for the friendly due to a shoulder injury, and it remains to be seen if the issue will keep the Tottenham midfielder on the sidelines when he returns to north London.
Sarr featured for Senegal in their previous friendly match against Peru on Saturday, where the midfielder completed 10 minutes as a late second-half substitute.
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Should Sarr be on the sidelines for any length of time, it would add to a lengthy injury list that De Zerbi is already being forced to manage as Tottenham boss.
Tottenham had eight players on the sidelines going into the international break, with Mathys Tel, Guglielmo Vicario, Ben Davies, Wilson Odobert, Mohammed Kudus, James Maddison, Dejan Kulusevski and Rodrigo Bentancur all currently unavailable with injuries.
Pape Matar Sarr has handed Tottenham a fresh injury blow
Vicario underwent minor surgery on a hernia last month and is not expected to return in time to feature against Sunderland later this month.
Tel suffered a groin injury last month and Tottenham will hope to have the striker back available in the near future, while Spurs will also hope to have Kudus and Bentancur back in training soon as the pair recover from muscle injuries.
Davies is a long-term absentee after suffering a broken ankle back in January, while Kulusevski and Odobert are not expected to return before the end of the season.
There is hope, though, that Maddison could feature before the end of the campaign after suffering an ACL injury during pre-season last summer.
Tottenham have seven Premier League fixtures left to play to avoid being relegated from the top flight, with Spurs currently in 17th place and one point above the drop zone.
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