Former Brentford manager thinks the intense pre-season training led to an unprecedented injury situation at Tottenham last season
One of the major reasons behind Tottenham Hotspur’s wretched 2024/25 Premier League season was an unprecedented injury situation.
While Ange Postecoglou ended the club’s 17-year-long trophy drought by winning the Europa League, he paid the price for a dismal Premier League season and 17th-place finish on the table. The Australian tactician was sacked and replaced by Thomas Frank, who is off to a strong start to life in north London.
The 51-year-old will want to continue the good work and improve his team’s performances at all cost. However, the Danish boss will not want to overdo things.
Tottenham still feeling the effects of last season’s injury crisis
Thomas Frank has not had a fully fit squad to work with after taking Tottenham’s reins in June. Dejan Kulusevski underwent knee surgery in May and remains sidelined until mid-December, while Radu Dragusin’s return from ACL rupture remains unknown despite him joining training with the squad since last month.
James Maddison suffered an ACL damage in his right knee in the pre-season game against Newcastle United in late July and has been ruled out for the majority of the season, just days after returning to the pitch. And former Brentford manager Martin Allen has suggested that intense pre-season training could be the reason behind Tottenham’s injury problems last season.
“There are rumours and they are only rumours that last year, Tottenham had the hardest pre-season training they’ve ever had” Martin Allen exclusively told Tottenham News.
“There are rumours that sports scientists and technicians behind the scenes said to the manager, ‘this is too much, it’s too intense, and the intensity for the players is going to cause us problems later on in the season’.
“And apparently, they carried on with the same program. The players complained, they weren’t happy, and then the injuries started to come.
“I can’t believe that Frank has made that mistake. I’m sure that he would take guidance and knowledge from his staff and listen to them.
“And if it gets too tough, you have to rest them. You can’t always get what you want as the manager. If their capabilities as athletes are not there, you’ve got to be patient and you’ve got to wait. Frank will not want an injury list like that, that’s for sure.”
Thomas Frank must manage his squad well
Frank is trying his best to give stability to Tottenham and put their failings from the past firmly behind them. He has overseen a strong start to the 2025/26 season and is working meticulously hard to prevent one of the main issues of last season to reappear this term.
The north Londoners lost several players to long-term injuries and it hugely affected their performance levels, something Frank will want to avoid this term. He has to carefully manage his squad to compete in all four fronts and avoid overusing players.
In comparison to Ange’s squad, the Dane has a bigger and better roster at his disposal and how he manages the workload of the players- including the ones who return from long-term injuries- will be interesting to watch for the fans.