Tottenham Hotspur’s 2025/26 season will be remembered for chaos, managerial turmoil and a desperate relegation battle — but above all else, it will be remembered for injuries.

At one stage during the spring run-in, Spurs had more than ten senior players unavailable, including James Maddison, Mohammed Kudus, Dejan Kulusevski, Cristian Romero, Wilson Odobert and Xavi Simons. Several suffered serious knee injuries, while others experienced repeated setbacks during rehabilitation.

Injuries happen in football. But when a club suffers this many long-term problems in one season, difficult questions have to be asked. Was Tottenham simply unlucky, or did something go badly wrong behind the scenes?

The Maddison Situation Raised Serious Concerns

The injury that perhaps best symbolised Tottenham’s disastrous season was James Maddison’s ACL tear.

Maddison had already suffered knee problems during the previous campaign and returned cautiously during pre-season. But in August 2025, during a friendly against Newcastle, he suffered another major knee injury that ruled him out for most of the season.

What made the situation more alarming were later reports suggesting an external specialist had advised against surgery after Maddison initially suffered a partial ACL tear months earlier. Eventually, the ligament fully ruptured.

That immediately led to criticism of Tottenham’s medical decision-making.

Was Maddison rushed back too quickly? Was his workload managed properly? Why did a player with known knee concerns continue to be exposed to such physical demands?

When injuries repeatedly worsen after attempted recoveries, supporters naturally begin questioning the competence of the medical department.

Kulusevski and the Never-Ending Rehab Cycle

Dejan Kulusevski’s situation became another source of frustration.

The Swedish international spent huge portions of the season unavailable with persistent knee problems, and reports suggested he was still struggling more than a year after the original issue emerged.

Tottenham’s attacking structure completely collapsed without him. Kulusevski had been one of the few players capable of progressing the ball under pressure and getting assists consistently. Yet every attempted comeback appeared to end in another setback.

That pattern became common across the squad.

Fans increasingly noticed players returning earlier than expected, only to disappear again weeks later. It created the impression that rehabilitation programmes were either too aggressive or not properly coordinated.

Modern elite clubs invest millions into sports science precisely to avoid these cycles. Tottenham instead looked trapped in one all season.

Kudus’ Injury Problems Added to the Crisis

When Tottenham signed Mohammed Kudus from West Ham United in the summer, he was expected to become the club’s main attacking spark.

Instead, his season unravelled after a major quad injury suffered in January. Initially expected back in March, Kudus later suffered a setback in recovery and missed far longer than anticipated.

The injury was particularly damaging because Tottenham’s squad depth had already been stretched thin. Kudus’ explosiveness and direct running were badly missed during the relegation battle.

Again, the same question emerged: why were so many recoveries experiencing complications?

Muscle injuries can happen because of overload, fatigue, poor conditioning or rushed returns. Spurs suffered so many soft-tissue issues throughout the season that concerns about training intensity became unavoidable.

Romero’s Absence Destroyed Defensive Stability

Cristian Romero’s injury problems arguably hurt Tottenham more than anyone else’s.

The Argentine defender remained one of the few elite-level players in the squad, but repeated knee issues kept him sidelined for long periods.

Without Romero, Spurs lacked aggression, organisation and leadership defensively. The back line constantly looked vulnerable, particularly during the winter collapse that dragged the club toward the relegation zone.

Romero himself reportedly became increasingly frustrated by the situation, with suggestions he was desperate to play but physically unable to return safely.

That distinction matters.

Players almost always want to return quickly. It is the responsibility of medical staff and performance departments to protect them from long-term damage.

Odobert and Simons Made Things Look Even Worse

Wilson Odobert and Xavi Simons represented the most frightening aspect of Tottenham’s season: the sheer number of ACL injuries.

Odobert suffered a ruptured ACL earlier in the campaign, while Simons later sustained the same devastating injury during the relegation run-in.

By spring, Spurs fans were openly asking how one club could suffer so many severe knee injuries in such a short period.

ACL injuries are sometimes unavoidable, but sports science experts often point toward fatigue, excessive workloads, poor recovery periods and overtraining as contributing risk factors. Tottenham’s relentless injury list made those theories impossible to ignore.

The club also changed managers three times during the season — from Thomas Frank to Igor Tudor before Roberto De Zerbi arrived.

Every coaching change brought different training methods, tactical demands and conditioning expectations. That instability may have increased physical stress on players already operating near their limits.

Have Tottenham’s Sports Scientists Failed?

It would be unfair to blame every injury entirely on Tottenham’s physios or sports scientists. Football has become more physically demanding than ever, and fixture congestion across domestic and European competitions affects every club.

But Tottenham’s situation felt extreme.

The sheer volume of muscular injuries, ACL tears and rehabilitation setbacks points toward something deeper than simple bad luck.

Questions now have to be asked about:

• Training intensity
• Recovery protocols
• Load management
• Communication between coaches and medical staff
• Whether players were returning too early
• The overall conditioning programme at Hotspur Way

When almost every key player suffers a major injury in the same season, scrutiny becomes inevitable.

Roberto De Zerbi managed to keep Spurs in the Premier League, but unless Tottenham fix what happened behind the scenes this year, another injury crisis could follow.

And next time, survival may not be enough.