Roberto De Zerbi provides triple Spurs injury boost in search of first Premier League goal

Roberto De Zerbi has offered a triple injury boost for Tottenham as they look to end their agonising wait for a Premier League goal this season.

Tottenham face Aston Villa on Saturday hoping for their season to finally kick into second gear, though they come into the match off the back of a babystep in the right direction from their Carabao Cup third-round tie against Liverpool .

Though they exited the competition to Andoni Iraola 's second-string side, they found the net against top-flight opposition for the first time this term in a 3-1 defeat.

Now looking to turn that grain of positivity into an actual win, De Zerbi will be happy to see his squad strengthened by the availability of Pedro Porro , Sandi Tonali and James Maddison , all of whom have been battling respective fitness problems.

"Porro, Tonali, and Maddison are all available to play," De Zerbi said in his pre-match press conference on Friday.

"Normally, we have to understand the situation in terms of physical condition, but all of them are ready."

Tonali and Porro were both absent from the clash at Anfield, with the £100m Italian recovering from an unspecified knock and Porro dealing with a muscular issue, while Maddison is yet to have started a match since sustaining a shoulder injury on the opening day at Brentford .

Maddison has not played a full 90 minutes of action since the end of the 2024/25 season, with an ACL tear ruling him out for the majority of last term, but De Zerbi has hailed the Englishman's work ethic in a bid to get back to full fitness.

De Zerbi added: "Listen, James is working with the team the last 10, 15 days, maybe less than 15 days. And even if he is a technical player, he needs to be fit, to stay in a good condition.

"When he arrives to the best condition, it's very important for us as a personality, as a characteristic, as a quality, as an experience. The quality of his passes are different than the others."

De Zerbi also spoke on Dejan Kulusevski , who hasn't played for Tottenham since before their Europa League final triumph of 16 months ago, after the Swede was pictured training to some degree.

"We have to manage him in the best way possible alongside our medical staff. It is great news for us obviously because he is a great player and a good guy. He deserves to play again and the international break will be important for him," he said.

"He will be like another new signing for us when he is back to his usual physical condition. He doesn't need my encouragement to keep working because he is strong-minded and a great character. He is an example for everyone."