Roberto De Zerbi has revealed why Destiny Udogie was absent from Tottenham’s matchday squad against Coventry City.A severely depleted Spurs side registered their first win of the Premier League season at the seventh time of asking as they emerged with a 3-1 victory over the newly promoted side. Monday 19th October Premier League TottenhamTottenham3|1CoventryCoventry Saturday 10th October Premier League Manchester UnitedManchester United1|1TottenhamTottenham Saturday 19th September Premier League TottenhamTottenham2|3Aston VillaAston Villa Saturday 12th September Premier League TottenhamTottenham0|0EvertonEverton Saturday 5th September Premier League Nottingham ForestNottingham Forest0|0TottenhamTottenham Saturday 29th August Premier League TottenhamTottenham0|2NewcastleNewcastle Saturday 22nd August Premier League BrentfordBrentford3|0TottenhamTottenhamThe game was far from easy, and it looked like it could be another frustrating evening at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium when Jack Rudoni’s 49th-minute strike cancelled out James Maddison’s worldie in the first half.However, a first goal in a Spurs shirt for Omar Marmoush and a stoppage-time goal by substitute Ben Davies ensured that the points were in the bag for De Zerbi’s side.Credit: @thefrederikkejensen / InstagramRoberto De Zerbi says Tottenham did not want to risk Destiny UdogieWhile it was known in the lead-up to the game that Lucas Bergvall and Savio had picked up injuries, supporters were surprised to see Andy Robertson getting the nod to start over Udogie, who had impressed in the 1-1 draw against Man Utd.In fact, the Italy international was not even on the bench, which confirmed that he had suffered an injury.De Zerbi has now shared that Udogie felt a problem in his knee after the game at Old Trafford, but he also added that Tottenham did not want to ‘take a risk’, which suggests that it is not a serious issue.The 46-year-old told Tottenham’s official website: “Destiny Udogie played 70 minutes (against Manchester United) and suffered a problem of (the) knee, and we didn’t take a risk alongside the medical staff.”D. UdogieTottenham – Premier League (2026 – 2027)Appearances4Minutes Played166Average Rating6.85Goals0Key Passes1Pass Accuracy (%)89.00Tackles2Interceptions3Duels Won11Fouls Committed3Yellow Cards1Stats correct as of 20 October 2026.Dejan Kulusevski makes his long-awaited Spurs comebackOn the injury front, the big news from Monday was the return of Dejan Kulusevski, who made his first appearance in a year and a half.The moment we’ve all been waiting for 🥹Welcome back, Deki 🤍 https://t.co/PkCsAUlhCD— Tottenham Hotspur (@SpursOfficial) October 20, 2026The Swede came on as an 87th-minute substitute for one of the biggest cheers of the night from the home crowd. He got around 10 minutes under his belt, producing a couple of promising moments.The 26-year-old’s return was certainly a welcome sight to the Spurs fans and was the icing on the cake for De Zerbi, with his attacking options suddenly looking much more formidable.READ MORE: ‘We are so back’ – Tottenham fans buoyed by latest Xavi Simons injury updateThe post Destiny Udogie injury update: Why Tottenham left-back was missing from Coventry win appeared first on Spurs Web.