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Tottenham star called up for key November World Cup qualifier; Will Spurs intervene?

Originally posted on To The Lane And Back
By Rohan Sengupta | Last updated Oct 25, 2025 3:57 PM ET

Romania call up Tottenham defender Radu Dragusin for November’s crucial World Cup qualifiers against Bosnia and San Marino

Tottenham Hotspur boss Thomas Frank will be frustrated with the growing injury list. Last week, he lost three defenders Cristian Romero, Destiny Udogie and Ben Davies to injury. Davies will be out for weeks due to hamstring injury, but Thomas Frank does not expect Romero and Udogie to be sidelined for long.

As far as long-term casualties are concerned, James Maddison and Dejan Kulusevski not playing a single competitive minute under Frank has hugely hurt Tottenham. The duo’s absence have left Tottenham with a lack of creativity and vision in the final third to unlock opposition defences easily, with summer signing Xavi Simons yet to hit the ground running.

Radu Dragusin also has been missing for the Lilywhites since the end of January. The centre-back has not featured in a Spurs shirt since suffering an ACL rupture in a Europa League tie against Elfsborg. The good news is the 23-year-old has been training with his club teammates since September.

Romania call-up Tottenham defender for crucial November’s World Cup qualifiers

Romania tried to select Radu Dragusin for their games in the October international break. However, Tottenham rejected the Romanian football team’s plea to select Dragusin for the games against Moldova and Austria in a bid to try and help him successfully negotiate the final stages of his recovery from a serious knee injury.

Frank would welcome the defender’s return to fitness but has been very careful not to rush him back too soon from ACL injury. Romania boss Mircea Lucescu accepted the north London club’s decision to not let their player join his camp for October games, but not this time.

According to a report from The Daily Mail, Dragusin has been named in the preliminary squad for fixtures against Bosnia-Herzegovina and San Marino. Romania registered a 1-0 win over Austria to move to third in the World Cup qualifying group. A victory against Bosnia-Herzegovina would give a great chance for Lucescu’s side of finishing second in Group H behind Austria but any other result would leave them dependant on Austria beating Bosnia.

Tottenham have not intervened this time so far, which perhaps suggests they are fine to see Dragusin go to the national team camp and help his teammates to qualify for the World Cup. This also shows that the 23-year-old is extremely close to returning to action, which bodes well for Frank.

As the Lilywhites are lacking numbers in defence following recent injuries, Dragusin’s full recover from cruciate knee ligaments provides Frank with a big boost ahead of a busy fixture schedule.

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

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