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Tottenham handed injury boost as defender returns to training after six months out
Sep 14 2026 16:49 · By www.football.london · 4 Reads
Tottenham have been handed a injury boost with a talented young defender returning to training after seven months out on the sidelines
Tottenham defender Jun'ai Byfield has returned to training after recovering from injury.
The 17-year-old made his first-team debut as a second-half substitute in the Champions League win against Borussia Dortmund in January, coming on in the 62nd minute for Lucas Bergvall.
Byfield then featured in the Champions League win at Eintracht Frankfurt before making his Premier League debut in the 2-2 draw against Manchester City in February.
He went on to be named in the squad for the trip to Manchester United and home fixture against Newcastle United before his season was ended in premature fashion after suffering a back injury.
But now, seven months on, Byfield is back training with the Under 21s and posted a picture of him with his teammates on Monday afternoon.
Although Spurs look well-stocked in defence, Roberto De Zerbi can now have a proper look at Byfield having not been able to use him at the back end of last season.
While he is expected to be used in the U21s for now, he could well be asked to join up with the senior group later in the campaign, and learn from the likes of Jan Paul van Hecke and Micky van de Ven.
Earlier in 2026, Byfield, who is predominately a centre-back but can be used in midfield, received glowing praise from former Tottenham manager Thomas Frank, who was axed following a dreadful run of results.
When asked about the fact that Byfield did not look out of place on his debut against Dortmund, Frank said: "No, no, not at all. Jun'ai has impressed throughout the training. The players trust him. Clearly, they rate him highly. I rate him highly. One thing is to get your debut for Tottenham, the last five minutes, 4-0 up and everything is smooth.
"Another thing is to get your debut in the Champions League, a big night against Dortmund and we needed to win the game. And he just came in, composed, calm, on top of this. Wow.
"I hope his parents are very proud. They should be."
Byfield, who doesn't turn 18 until December, signed his first professional contract with Spurs last year.