Tottenham Hotspur’s Nigerian-born defender, Destiny Udogie, is down with a knee injury and missed the London club’s English Premier League 3-1 victory over Coventry City on Monday night, Sports247 reports.
While two other Nigerian-born stars, Tosin Adarabioyo and Dominic Solanke, both started the home fixture for Tottenham, with Callum Olusesi on their bench, Udogie was again left out of the squad.
This came two weeks after the 23-year-old Italy international copped a knock during 74 minutes of action in Spurs’ dramatic 1-1 draw away to Manchester United at Old Trafford, and he is still battling to fully recover.
The squad had a nine-day break before Monday night’s game, much of which was spent in Marbella, Spain, but Tottenham’s coach, Roberto De Zerbi, chose not to risk Udogie, who has a long history of injuries with the club.
Speaking to Sky Sports before kick-off, De Zerbi said: “Destiny Udogie played 70 minutes, and he suffered a problem in his knee, and we didn’t take a risk.”
A report by the UK’s Standard newspaper added, “Udogie had featured in four of Tottenham’s six Premier League matches thus far but now seems to be facing a spell on the sidelines.
“De Zerbi rung the changes against Coventry, handing James Maddison his first competitive start since April 2025, while Tosin Adarabioyo made his full Premier League debut.
“There was also a start in midfield for Archie Gray, who has been filling in at right-back this season, with Tosin at right-back and youngsters Luca Williams-Barnett and Callum Olusesi on the bench.”
Sports247 reports further that Udogie, who was some months back accosted on the streets at gun point by an aggrieved agent, has struggled with several knee injuries and muscle complaints since joining Spurs from Udinese of Italy in 2023.
Meanwhile, Taiwo Awoniyi and Frank Onyeka both got off Coventry’s bench in the 59th minute of Monday’s game but their gallant efforts were not enough to save their team from defeat and slump behind their hosts on goals difference.
