De Zerbi Admits Tottenham Made Mistake With Pedro Porro As Udogie Injury Concerns Grow
Tottenham Hotspur manager Roberto De Zerbi has admitted that the club made a mistake in bringing Pedro Porro back too quickly, after the defender suffered a hamstring injury earlier this season.
The Spurs boss also expressed concerns over Destiny Udogie’s ongoing fitness problems, with the Italian defender having missed the club’s last two matches because of a knee injury.
Udogie is now expected to return for Saturday’s Premier League meeting with Crystal Palace, while Porro has also recovered and recently returned to the matchday squad after spending several weeks on the sidelines.
Tottenham have struggled to get both full-backs available consistently this season. In fact, Porro and Udogie have started together only once across all competitions.
Udogie’s injury record has become a growing concern, with the defender missing 46 matches for club and country since arriving from Udinese in 2023.
Speaking about the situation, De Zerbi admitted that Udogie’s inability to train consistently has been frustrating, despite the club’s medical team carefully managing his recovery.
Porro’s situation has also raised questions. The Spanish international picked up a hamstring injury against Aston Villa after initially experiencing discomfort during Spain’s World Cup campaign.
Tottenham had previously been cautious with his fitness, but he was eventually handed a starting place against Villa after pushing to play through the pain. Unfortunately, he lasted just 19 minutes before being substituted.
De Zerbi has now accepted that the decision to start Porro may have been a mistake, taking responsibility alongside his coaching staff.
The Tottenham manager admitted: “Maybe we made some mistake with Pedro, with Aston Villa, but not medical staff, it was together, me too and my staff.”
Spurs will now hope both defenders can stay fit as they look to strengthen their defensive options for the remainder of the campaign.
