Injury expert Dr Rajpal Brar has said that Destiny Udogie’s return date cannot be assessed for a few more weeks, suggesting that the left-back may not be ready to train with the group at the start of pre-season.
Udogie has had an outstanding debut season in the Premier League, winning many admirers since arriving from Udinese last summer.
What has been particularly impressive about the 21-year-old is the way he has adapted to the inverted full-back role in Ange Postecoglou’s system despite having played exclusively as a wing-back back in Italy.
The left-back was nominated for the Premier League Young Player of the Year award alongside Newcastle’s Alexander Isak, Manchester United’s Kobbie Mainoo, Chelsea’s Cole Palmer, Manchester City duo Erling Haaland and Phil Foden, and Arsenal pair William Saliba and Bukayo Saka.
Several pundits, including the likes of Gary Neville, have named the Italian international in their Premier League Team of the Season (Sky Sports).
Unfortunately, Udogie’s season did not have the best of endings as the defender picked up a quadriceps injury last month, which required surgery.
The injury did not just rule him out of the final few matches of the season but also meant that his dream of playing a key part in the Azzurri’s Euros defence was over.
Destiny Udogie may train alone during pre-season
Brar has now said that it is too early to make a definite prediction on Udogie’s return date, suggesting that the Tottenham man could even be forced to train on his own at the start of pre-season.
The injury expert told Tottenham News: “This sounds like a significant injury considering he had an operation on his thigh straight away and Ange is only hopeful that he will return for pre-season training.
“That training will depend on how his rehabilitation is going leading up to it. As of now, the focus and priority will be on rest and recovery and a return date can be assessed in a few weeks.
“There remains a likelihood that he trains individually too without the first team in pre-season.”
Spurs Web Opinion
Udogie had his surgery nearly a month ago and one would hope that the more than three months of rest would be enough for the left-back to be fit and firing in time for the start of the new season.
Keep up to date with all the latest Tottenham news and opinion by following SpursWeb’s Facebook, Twitter and Instagram accounts.
