Tottenham suffer new injury blow before Liverpool as Richarlison update shared by Roberto De Zerbi

Tottenham Hotspur manager Roberto De Zerbi has revealed that Sandro Tonali will be unavailable for Tuesday's EFL Cup third-round clash with Liverpool due to injury.

The Italy international has started each of Spurs' first four games of the 2026-27 Premier League season and completed the full 90 in Saturday's goalless draw with Everton.

Tonali seemingly came through the stalemate with the Toffees unscathed, as there was no mention of an issue for the former Newcastle United man at full time.

However, speaking to the media in Monday's pre-game press conference, De Zerbi revealed that Tonali had picked up a minor issue, saying: "No Sandro Tonali, he felt a knock," as quoted by football.london.

Tonali will take his place on the sidelines alongside Dejan Kulusevski (knee) and Pedro Porro (muscle), as De Zerbi confirmed that the wide duo are also still unavailable for competitive action.

Xavi Simons (knee), Wilson Odobert (knee) and Mykhaylo Mudryk (ankle) are also out for the long-term for Tottenham, but Destiny Udogie is available again following a minor muscular issue.

However, De Zerbi also confirmed that Richarlison would not play any part in the EFL Cup clash with Liverpool, even though the Brazilian is eligible to feature despite being left out of Tottenham's Premier League squad.

"Richarlison, you already know everything, so nothing changes with the Carabao Cup or Premier League," De Zerbi added. "I said last press conference. I know what happened in the last 45 days.

"It's not right if I explained. It's not my behaviour, the relationship. The problem is between the player and the club. I stay within the club. It's coach and club together. At the start of this season I spoke to him many times to convince him to stay and he didn't want to. I can't go every day to pray for him to stay."

After a deadline-day return to Everton broke down, Richarlison has been out in the cold at Tottenham, who failed to offload him to the Turkish Super Lig before the window slammed shut.

The Brazil international was then in negotiations to return to his homeland with Vasco da Gama, but that transfer also collapsed, reportedly due to Richarlison being unable to agree personal terms.

The Saudi Pro League - where the transfer window is open until October 12 - remains a viable destination for Richarlison, but the attacker is now locked in a bitter contract dispute with Tottenham.

Richarlison is in the final 12 months of his existing deal, but he is supposedly keen to have his contract terminated, allowing him to explore other opportunities as a free agent.

However, Tottenham are not minded to rip up Richarlison's agreement, so the attacker could very well be forced to stay put for a few months before leaving in January.

Get FREE daily news and in-depth previews for games from the biggest leagues and competitions in world football — straight to your inbox.