Several Tottenham senior players did not feature in Roberto De Zerbi’s first pre-season match, as Spurs beat MK Dons 1–0 at Hotspur Way. We have highlighted each of them below.
Tottenham Hotspur supporters finally got to watch their side play football for the first time in over two months on Wednesday evening.
Spurs got their pre-season preparations off to a winning start after beating the League One outfit MK Dons 1-0 in a behind-closed-doors match at Hotspur Way.
Many Tottenham fans also caught a glimpse of some of the club’s newest recruits, with Mateus Fernandes, Sandro Tonali and Martin Dubravka all featuring.
In fact, it was Fernandes who announced himself brilliantly to the Lilywhite faithful, as his wonder strike proved enough against their opponent.
Still, several other senior players were absent, and Spurs Web have now identified each one of these stars.
All the senior Tottenham players missing from MK Dons clash
In the absence of several senior stars, Roberto De Zerbi naturally turned to his youngsters, who were impressive against MK Dons.
The likes of Williams Barnett, Tye Hall, Malachi Hardy, Harry Byrne, Rio Kyerematan, Mikey Moore and Yang Min-hyeok all featured.
But for the senior stars, players who were involved in the World Cup did not make the XI.
That includes Andy Robertson, Marcos Senesi, Kevin Danso, Rodrigo Bentancur, Micky van de Ven, Jan Paul van Hecke, Pape Matar Sarr, Cristian Romero, Djed Spence, Pedro Porro and Lucas Bergvall.
While some of these stars have been given extended breaks given how far they went in the World Cup, others have returned.
Van Hecke, van de Ven, Bergvall and Robertson have all been spotted in training and could well be involved in Tottenham’s next pre-season game. We could also see Danso, Bentancur and Sarr return in the coming days.
| Fixture | Date | Kick-off (UK) |
|---|---|---|
| Spurs vs MK Dons | Wednesday, July 22 | 5pm |
| Auckland FC vs Spurs | Sunday, July 26 | 4am |
| Sydney FC vs Spurs | Wednesday, July 29 | 10.45am |
| Chelsea vs Spurs | Saturday, August 1 | 10.45am |
| Spurs vs Getafe CF | Saturday, August 8 | 3pm |
| Spurs vs TSG Hoffenheim | Saturday, August 15 | 3pm |
| Spurs vs TSG Hoffenheim | Sunday, August 16 | 12 noon |
Injured and non-World Cup absentees also missing
Senior stars currently nursing injuries were also not a part of the Tottenham XI that took on MK Dons. Wilson Odobert, Mohammed Kudus, Dejan Kulusevski and Xavi Simons all fall into this bracket.
Meanwhile, some players who did not feature at the World Cup and are not injured, were still not a part of the squad.
The likes of James Maddison, Destiny Udogie, Souza, Ashley Phillips, Guglielmo Vicario and Brandon Austin all fall into these categories.
In all, these were the absent players from the game against MK Dons.
Absent senior players
| World Cup absentees | Injured players | Other absentees |
|---|---|---|
| Andy Robertson | Wilson Odobert | James Maddison |
| Marcos Senesi | Mohammed Kudus | Destiny Udogie |
| Kevin Danso | Dejan Kulusevski | Souza |
| Rodrigo Bentancur | Xavi Simons | Ashley Phillips |
| Micky van de Ven | Guglielmo Vicario | |
| Jan Paul van Hecke | Brandon Austin | |
| Pape Matar Sarr | ||
| Cristian Romero | ||
| Djed Spence | ||
| Pedro Porro | ||
| Lucas Bergvall |
Up next for Tottenham is their trip to New Zealand and Australia, where they have games against Auckland FC, Sydney FC and Chelsea.