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Tottenham’s retractable pitch under review as inquiry into injury-ravaged season starts
27th May, 2026 11:30 AM
Tottenham lost the most days and games to injury of any Premier League side this season; crippling injury list nearly led to their relegation as Spurs secured top-flight safety on the final day; it is understood the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium pitch is one area being investigated
Tottenham lost the most days and games to injury of any Premier League side this season; crippling injury list nearly led to their relegation as Spurs secured top-flight safety on the final day; it is understood the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium pitch is one area being investigated
Tottenham lost the most days to injury of any Premier League side this season, while Spurs players missed a combined 370 games across all competitions due to injury this campaign, the most of any top-flight side.
The club’s failure to keep players fit nearly led to their relegation as Roberto De Zerbi’s side dramatically needed a final-day home win over Everton to secure their Premier League safety.
It is a second consecutive injury-hit season for Spurs, who have lost the most days and games to injury of any Premier League side since the start of the 2024/25 campaign.
Ninth richest club
A lengthy injury list has played its part in back-to-back 17th-placed finishes for the world’s ninth-richest football club.
A lengthy injury list has played its part in back-to-back 17th-placed finishes for the world’s ninth-richest football club.
The serious knee injuries to Dejan Kulusevski and Radu Dragusin came at home last season, while James Maddison partially tore his anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) in last May’s home win over Bodo/Glimt before a full rupture three months later in preseason in South Korea.
This season, Ben Davies broke his ankle in January’s home defeat to West Ham, while Wilson Odobert ruptured his ACL in the home loss against Newcastle, while Xavi Simons also suffered an injury.
Independent testing
It is understood Tottenham regularly carries out external independent testing on their home surface to assess the bounce of the pitch compared to that of their training pitch, but to date the results are inconclusive.
However, further detailed testing is planned in the coming weeks to analyse whether there is a difference in their home surface compared to other Premier League pitches.
Tottenham’s investigation comes with Real Madrid’s new retractable pitch also in the spotlight.
Since the Santiago Bernabeu’s reopening, the 15-time European champions have suffered a spate of ACL injuries.
Reports in Spain claim Real are investigating their pitches at both the Bernabeu and their Valdebebas training ground.
While the Bernabeu has only been fully reopened for three years, Spurs have been playing at their £1bn state-of-the-art stadium for the past seven years, with injuries only becoming a real issue in the last two seasons.
Since the start of the 2024/25 campaign, Tottenham have suffered 123 injuries, only north London rivals Arsenal (146) have suffered more in the Premier League in that period.
Medical standards
Multiple Spurs players have also had injury setbacks in the past two seasons, including Mohammed Kudus this campaign.
Spurs’ non-executive chairman Peter Charrington promised there would be a “significant focus on raising standards across medical and performance” in an open letter to fans on Monday.
Lewindon’s review is understood to have uncovered structural issues within the performance set-up of the club.
There is a belief that there is a lack of integration, communication, and shared decision-making, which has led to injuries and injury reoccurrences.
A higher level of support for players individually is wanted by Tottenham head coach De Zerbi.
This has prompted Lewindon to build a small-team approach whereby up to six players are assigned a physio, which allows higher-quality programming and better decisions made around a player’s training design and physical preparation.
