Rodrigo Bentancur is back from suspension and Tosin Adarabioyo is fit again for Tottenham's trip to Leeds United on Saturday — but Roberto De Zerbi will still be without Savio, Lucas Bergvall and Mykhailo Mudryk at Elland Road.
Spurs confirmed the double boost on Friday, with Bentancur available again after serving a three-match suspension and Tosin back in the squad after rejoining team training on Thursday. Tottenham travel for the Saturday lunchtime kick-off (12:30pm UK) chasing a fourth straight win.
Two returns at exactly the right time
Bentancur has not played since his red card in the 1-1 draw at Manchester United on 10 October, missing the wins over Coventry City, Chelsea and Crystal Palace while he served his ban. His return restores De Zerbi's most experienced midfield option for one of the Premier League's most intense away grounds.
Tosin's comeback matters just as much. The centre-back has been sidelined since starting against Coventry on 19 October, missing the Chelsea and Palace wins with a calf problem. "Tosin is available, yesterday he joined the group," De Zerbi said at his Friday press conference.
He is unlikely to walk straight back into the side — Micky van de Ven and Jan Paul van Hecke have kept back-to-back clean sheets, most recently in the 2-0 win over Crystal Palace — but his return gives De Zerbi a genuine option from the bench and cover for the run into the international break.
Three still missing — and a Simons hope
The absentee list remains a problem in attack. Asked who was missing for Leeds, De Zerbi was blunt, as football.london also reported: "Savio, Bergvall, Mudryk (are unavailable)."
Bergvall has not featured since suffering a knee injury in that same Old Trafford draw on 10 October, while Savio and Mudryk also remain out, alongside the long-term absentees Wilson Odobert and Xavi Simons.
There is at least a flicker of hope on Simons. The playmaker is still recovering from his ACL injury, but Sky Sports, citing the Press Association, report he has stepped up his recovery and is set to return to training at the end of November — earlier than first feared. That remains a reported timeline rather than a club confirmation, and nobody at Spurs will rush an ACL return, but it is the first good news on Simons in months.
So what: Leeds will test a side still patched up in attack
Leeds have problems of their own. Former Spurs defender Joe Rodon is back in full training and in contention after missing eight games, but Daniel Farke has doubts over Noah Okafor and Anton Stach, and Dominic Calvert-Lewin is a hope rather than a certainty after his foot setback.
For Tottenham, the equation is simple. Win at Elland Road and they sign off for the break with four straight victories and real momentum behind De Zerbi. Drop points with a patched-up attack, and the injury list — not the returns — becomes the story of the weekend again.
Beyond the Final Whistle: Bentancur's return is the bigger of the two boosts, whatever the team sheet says about Tosin. De Zerbi's side have won without him, but Elland Road at lunchtime is where control in midfield stops being a luxury. With Bergvall, Savio and Mudryk still out, Spurs are winning games with half an attack — get through this one and the break, with Simons edging closer, suddenly looks like a turning point rather than a pause. Should Bentancur start at Leeds, or be eased back from the bench after his ban? Have your say in the comments.
