Scans this week have steered Tottenham away from the worst-case fear they were facing when Mathys Tel was helped from the pitch on crutches a week ago. The 21-year-old France forward left Elland Road in a protective boot, with early signs pointing to a serious Achilles problem, but the latest club assessment now expects a lay-off measured in weeks rather than months.

Spurs lost 1-0 at Leeds in the Premier League on 7 November, with Tel forced off in the 42nd minute after Jayden Bogle caught him across the Achilles. Dominic Solanke came on in his place. VAR Tony Harrington ran through multiple replays but did not send on-field referee John Brooks to the pitchside monitor, and no card followed.

Asked afterwards whether he had wanted an on-field review, head coach Roberto De Zerbi backed the match officials.

“No, I have big confidence in the referee,” he told Sky Sports.

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The Italian added that the referee’s threshold had been wrong on two separate incidents on the night, pointing both to the Bogle tackle and to a second-half yellow card shown to Pedro Porro.

‘100 per cent a red’

Former Premier League referees Mike Dean and Dermot Gallagher both argued Bogle should have been sent off on the spot.

“It is 100 per cent a red,” Dean said on Sky Sports’ Soccer Saturday. “He has caught him right down the back of the Achilles. It is not a good tackle at all.”

Gallagher, on the broadcaster’s Ref Watch, pointed to the directive covering contact above the ankle and Achilles, and called Bogle “extremely lucky” to stay on the pitch.

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£30m permanent signing

Tel is not an experimental loan at Spurs. Tottenham completed a permanent transfer from Bayern Munich on 15 June 2025, paying £30m on top of the £8.5m already settled for a half-season loan earlier in the year, and tying him to a contract that runs until 2031.

Complaint lodged with Pro Ref

Tottenham have now formally complained to Pro Ref about the handling of the challenge, asking why neither a card nor a VAR intervention followed.

Spurs do not play again until the international break ends, with Tel’s return date still tied to a further medical assessment.

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