Tottenham Hotspur interim head coach Igor Tudor has confirmed that defender Djed Spence will miss Thursday night’s London derby against Crystal Palace after failing to recover in time from a calf injury
Spurs host the Eagles at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, with Tudor desperate for his first win since taking over from Thomas Frank last month.
The Croatian has overseen consecutive defeats in his opening two matches and is already under pressure to deliver results.
However, the Europa League champions will be without Spence for the clash. The 25-year-old has been a regular this season for the club, making 34 appearances across all competitions, including 22 in the Premier League.
The England international missed last weekend’s 2-1 defeat at Fulham with a minor calf problem, after recently returning from an earlier injury that sidelined him for two matches.
He then completed the full 90 minutes in the defeats to Newcastle United and Arsenal, before suffering the latest setback that has ruled out his participation from Thursday’s showdown.
With Tottenham not involved in the FA Cup this weekend, the club is hopeful Spence will be fit to return for next week’s UEFA Champions League Round of 16 first leg clash against Atletico Madrid.
Speaking at his pre-match press conference, Tudor confirmed the absence of the former Middlesbrough defender in quotes revealed by football.london.
“Djed is out, he’s not ready for the game tomorrow.”
Meanwhile, Dejan Kulusevski, Lucas Bergvall, James Maddison and Mohammed Kudus remain sidelined, while captain Cristian Romero will serve the final match of his four-game suspension.
Tottenham will be hoping to secure their first league win of 2026 against Crystal Palace on Thursday night, which would ease pressure on Tudor and move them further away from the relegation zone.
