Tottenham head coach Roberto De Zerbi believes Mathys Tel could be facing a serious injury after the forward was hurt in a challenge by Jayden Bogle during Saturday's 1-0 defeat at Leeds United, according to LiveScore. The French attacker is set to undergo additional medical assessment before the club learns how long he might be sidelined.
Noah Okafor's late goal at Elland Road settled the match and ended Tottenham's run of three consecutive wins. The result left De Zerbi openly dissatisfied with how his team performed after the interval.
Why it matters
The loss is Tottenham's first in four matches and interrupts a stretch of form that had been building. More pressing for De Zerbi is the condition of Tel, whose fitness will be confirmed only after further checks. A lengthy absence would remove an attacking option from a squad the manager is still trying to shape.
De Zerbi's post-match comments also signal that he sees the result as a test of mentality rather than a one-off setback. He framed the second half as a failure of character and said an honest review of it is the only route to improvement.
De Zerbi questions second-half attitude
Speaking after the final whistle, De Zerbi gave a mixed assessment of the opening period. He said Tottenham were "alive" before the break, created two or three clear chances and were not troubled defensively, even if the football was not the best they have produced.
The second half was a different story. De Zerbi said he did not know why his players struggled so badly after the restart and argued they effectively decided to lose the game. He pointed to available space that went unused and to poor decisions about positioning, adding that the side lacked the personality to impose themselves.
"But we have to be honest, because if you are not honest today, I think the future is not good," De Zerbi said, per LiveScore. He suggested that a truthful analysis of the team's behaviour in the second half could still be the foundation for becoming a top side.
The Tottenham boss also noted that the coaching staff had spent the entire week preparing the squad for the intensity, the style of play and the atmosphere they would meet at Elland Road. Despite that preparation, he said, his players did not perform the way they had planned.
Leeds punish Spurs after the break
Okafor's late strike proved decisive and consigned Tottenham to a defeat that De Zerbi described as part of the journey his team must travel. The phrasing suggests he views the setback as a stage in the squad's development rather than a verdict on its progress.
LiveScore reports that Tel's problem came from a challenge by Bogle, though the severity of the issue will not be clear until the club's medical staff complete their examinations. De Zerbi's use of the phrase "bad injury" indicates the club is preparing for the possibility of a spell without the forward.
Tottenham's three-game winning sequence is now over, and the manager's public criticism of the second-half display puts the focus on how his players respond. De Zerbi has consistently stressed intensity and decision-making, and he made clear that both were missing at Leeds.
What to watch
The club's update on Tel's condition will be the first indicator of how costly the trip to Elland Road proves, while Tottenham's next fixture will show whether De Zerbi's call for honesty produces a reaction on the pitch.
