Thomas Frank has provided his first injury update as Tottenham update, with the recoveries of James Maddison and Dejan Kulusevski from their respective setbacks discussed.
The new manager was speaking ahead of our first pre-season friendly of the summer, as we travel to the Majeski Stadium on Saturday afternoon to take on Reading.
Frank almost has a full squad at his disposal for the game, but will be without a couple of protagonists from the Ange Postecoglou regime.
Thomas Frank provides updates on Maddison & Kulusevski injury recoveries
🚨| Injury updates from Thomas Frank:
— The Spurs Express (@TheSpursExpress) July 18, 2025
-James Maddison is in ‘part-training’ with the team, which is a positive step
-Dragusin and Kulusevski are a little bit further away from returning pic.twitter.com/K0a5XJIRr6
Asked about Spurs' current injuries in his pre-match press conference on Friday, Frank replied (via Alasdair Gold): "James [Maddison] is part-training with the team, so that's positive. [Radu] Dragusin and [Dejan] Kulusevski are a little bit further away."
Maddison has been out of action since the start of May, when he picked up a knee injury in the first leg of our Europa League semi-final triumph over Bodo/Glimt. Kulusevski, meanwhile, cruelly underwent patella surgery ahead of the final, and his significant setback means he's likely to miss the start of the new season.
These setbacks may have played a role in Spurs' aggression in bolstering their playmaking department in the transfer market. The versatile Mohammed Kudus has joined from West Ham in a £55m deal, and the club sought to add Morgan Gibbs-White to their ranks by triggering his not-so-secret £60m release clause. Doubt remains as to whether the England international will arrive in N17, but we should know a little bit more over the weekend with Nottingham Forest due to fly out to Portugal for their pre-season tour on Monday.
When exactly Kulusevski will return remains to be seen, but Frank's update on Maddison suggests he'll return at some point this summer. The new manager will want to have the Englishman, who's likely to start as the Dane's No. 10, available for our pre-season tour to the Far East.
We face Reading and Luton before flying out later this month, with fixtures against Arsenal and Newcastle arranged.
The other absentee noted by Frank is Radu Dragusin, who tore his ACL against Elfsborg at the start of the year. The Romanian defender has made good progress in his lengthy recovery, but we shouldn't be expected to see him in action until later this year.
Dragusin never really looked comfortable under Postecoglou, but should be more at ease with the adaptable Frank at the helm. Competition in defence has stiffened with the arrivals of Kota Takai and Luka Vuskovic.