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Tottenham veto international call-up for senior star; N-17 not ready to yield to puzzling selection

Originally posted on To The Lane And Back
By Rohan Sengupta | Last updated Oct 1, 2025 10:15 AM ET

Tottenham Hotspur reject Romania’s plea to pick Radu Dragusin for the upcoming international break

New Tottenham Hotspur boss Thomas Frank has had to deal with a lot of injury problems already.

James Maddison suffered an ACL rupture to his right knee after just returning to action during the pre-season tour, while Dejan Kulusevski has been sidelined since undergoing knee surgery in May. On Monday, Thomas Frank confirmed that Dominic Solanke will undergo a minor ankle surgery, which will rule him out for the foreseeable future. Also, Cristian Romero has not travelled to Norway to face Bodo/Glimt in the Champions League due to precaution.

It looks the Lilywhites are still feeling the effects of last season’s injury crisis. Several players that got injured during the 2024/25 campaign are yet to return to action, and one of those is Radu Dragusin.

Radu Dragusin suffered an ACL rupture during a Europa League game against Elfsborg on January 30. The good news regarding the defender is he has started training with the team since the start of the September. He has seemingly completed his rehab and is now waiting to make his return to action.

Tottenham stop Radu Dragusin from joining Romania national team

It has been a long and taxing road to recovery for Radu Dragusin, but Spurs may be about to reap the rewards from a surprise decision regarding his return.

According to a report from The Daily Mail, Tottenham have rejected Romania’s bid to call up Dragusin for the October international break’s fixtures. Romania boss Mircea Lucescu has tried to pick the central defender for the games against Moldova and Austria, only to be rebuffed by Lilywhites.

Romania are scheduled to face Moldova in a friendly match on October 9, before taking on Austria in a World Cup qualifier three days later. If Lucescu’s men lose against Austria and Bosnia-Herzegovina also beat Cyprus, their dreams of qualifying for the 2026 World Cup will be crushed.

Right decision taken by Spurs?

Dragusin has not played competitive football since February, so Romania attempting to name him in their squad was a bit puzzling. Tottenham, however, are not keen on releasing the defender for international duty as the Europa League winners want their towering defender to focus on his daily rehab plan, conditioning, training and fitness work under the watchful eyes of the medical team.

The north Londoners have done the right thing by standing in way of Lucescu’s plans to pick the Romanian defender. Thomas Frank and his coaching staff will need to manage the 23-year-old’s minutes and fitness when he gets the green signal from the medical department to return to action as he will provide an option at the back to the team when is back to full tilt.

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

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