Tottenham lose Mathys Tel to 'bad injury', James Maddison left on bench

The French forward was caught on his left Achilles by Jayden Bogle during a challenge, although the Leeds defender escaped punishment despite the incident being reviewed by VAR.

Tel initially tried to carry on but eventually indicated that he could not continue, with Dominic Solanke coming on in his place.

The extent of the damage remains unclear, but Tel was subsequently spotted leaving the stadium on crutches while wearing a protective boot. His injury has been described as a "bad injury", raising fears that he could face an extended spell on the sidelines.

"Bad injury," De Zerbi told reporters.

"Now we have to make the medical check. In the next days we will know what is the problem."

Meanwhile, questions continue to surround James Maddison's availability. The midfielder has not played since sustaining an issue during Tottenham's victory over Chelsea last month and has now been overlooked in consecutive matches despite being named among the substitutes.

Roberto De Zerbi opted to introduce teenager Lucas Williams-Barnett instead of Maddison against Leeds, even as Spurs searched for an equaliser, further highlighting the uncertainty surrounding the England international's condition.

"James, I thought [about bringing him on] in the last substitution before Luca Williams-Barnett, but I saw [Mohammed] Kudus was very tired," De Zerbi explained.

"And James didn’t [train] until Thursday. On Thursday he worked half [and] part of the training yesterday. And in the last 15 minutes maybe could be a good solution, but I decided to make that change because Luca in the winger position, is better than Maddison."