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Thomas Frank gives dual injury update as 2025/25 campaign draws near; defender facing weeks out

Originally posted on To The Lane And Back
By Rohan Sengupta | Last updated Jul 29, 2025 5:01 PM ET

Tottenham boss Thomas Frank issues injury updates on defensive duo Kota Takai and Destiny Udogie

The injury curse of last season at Tottenham Hotspur has still not disappeared. New boss Thomas Frank will be wary of the well-documented injury crisis that kept more than 10 players out during the winter period at N17.

The Danish tactician replaced Ange Postecoglou earlier this summer, hoping to increase the fitness levels and robustness of the Spurs squad. This led to him arranging for an extra pre-season friendly fixture against Wycombe Wanderers to the schedule last weekend, which gave him a chance to evaluate his squad further.

Following two draws against Wycombe Wanderers and Luton Town in back-to-back pre-season friendlies on July 26, the Lilywhites are now gearing themselves up for the pre-season tour of Asia. Thomas Frank has already taken a 29-man squad to Asia for the fixtures against Arsenal and Newcastle United, and there are a couple of notable absentees.

Thomas Frank gives injury updates on Kota Takai and Destiny Udogie

Destiny Udogie and Kota Takai missed back-to-back friendlies against Wycombe and Luton due to injury problems. As a result, both have stayed behind at Hotspur Way for treatment.

Ahead of Tottenham’s clash against bitter rivals Arsenal on July 31, Frank gave more information regarding the injury condition of Destiny Udogie and Kota Takai. The extent of Udogie’s knee injury that he sustained in the warm-up is still being evaluated, while Takai has suffered a foot injury that will keep him sidelined for weeks.

“Kota’s got plantar fascia unfortunately. I don’t know exactly the scale of it, weeks. Destiny has got a knee injury that we are assessing at the moment that just kept him out of the pre-season tour. When we know more, we will update more,” Frank said in his pre-match press conference (h/t Football London).

Defensive concerns for Tottenham heading into the 2025/26 season

Takai arrived in North London in a £5million deal from Kawasaki Frontale earlier this month, becoming J1 League’s most expensive player in the process. The Japanese talent missing the entire pre-season for his new club is not a great sign, taking the platform away from him to impress his boss. It is a setback and once again leaves Spurs short in central defence, with Radu Dragusin already out with an ACL rupture.

As for Udogie, the medical team are assessing the extent of his knee injury. Hopefully, it is not a serious one but worrying signs for the left-back as he has been having niggling issues with his knee since arriving at the club in 2023. If Udogie is not fit to start the new season, will we see Djed Spence deputise at left-back?

This article first appeared on To The Lane And Back and was syndicated with permission.

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