It has been another nightmare of a Premier League season for Tottenham Hotspur on all fronts. A year after finishing 17th in the league under Ange Postecoglou and dealing with a bevy of injuries, Tottenham are just as prone to injury in the 2025/26 season and sinking fast in the Premier League table again. They came into last weekend 14th in the table, lost 2-1 to 18th placed West Ham United, and are now in crisis mode with even upcoming opponents Burnley feeling like far from a guarantee.
Thomas Frank somehow saved his job on Tuesday night in the Champions League with a thoroughly comprehensive 2-0 demolition of Borussia Dortmund, who are second in the Bundesliga, though, really, it felt like BVB were doing their best to try to beat themselves.
All was not positive, as seems to be the case every week for Tottenham, despite the clean sheet victory. That is because Lucas Bergvall, who was fresh off a minor injury, had to leave the game at around the hour mark in severe pain. Now, we know the Swedish international will join fellow midfielder Rodrigo Bentancur on the injured list for multiple months.
Tottenham have been decimated by injuries
Tottenham Hotspur have been ravaged by injuries at all positions this season, but the midfield has been an especially big issue. In addition to the above injuries, Xavi Simons was playing through an injury against Dortmund, Joao Palhinha was out, and Pape Matar Sarr was also absent after being hospitalized for an illness recently. And that's not even mentioning the fact that James Maddison and Dejan Kulusevski are both still injured long term.
There is no sugarcoating the loss of Lucas Bergvall for multiple months, as this latest injury blow is a huge jolt to a midfield that just added Conor Gallagher - and now needs another midfield signing this January transfer window.
But at least Tottenham got a sliver of good news on another injured midfield player. According to The Sun's Spurs reporter Tom Barclay, Tottenham manager Thomas Frank stated at the press conference ahead of the Premier League matchup against Burnley that defensive midfielder Joao Palhinha is "progressing well" and could be able to return for this game.
Although Frank did not guarantee that Palhinha will be out there, the fact that he is closer to returning is a huge plus. With Bergvall and Bentancur injured, Palhinha is now even more important with his ball winning as the No. 6. He may not start every game as Pape Sarr, Archie Gray, and Gallagher are going to get their minutes at the base of the midfield, but despite his defensive limitations, you could make a strong case that the Portuguese international has been the best of these four midfielders this season.