Tottenham are surprisingly close to getting another super sub for Roberto De Zerbi

Tottenham Hotspur attacking midfielder Wilson Odobert was expected to return in around January after tearing his ACL in the winter of the 2025/26 Premier League season, just when he was beginning to click under Thomas Frank and show his best stuff on the wings, especially on the right wing. Roberto De Zerbi even told reporters around the Crystal Palace game that his versatile young Frenchman would not be back until January.

However, it appears a return could be sooner than expected, just as with Xavi Simons. And as Odobert's injury came before Simons's own ACL tear, the attacker will be back even sooner, too. Tottenham announced on social media that Odobert is back in training with the team and working his way back into action.

it will obviously take the talented 21 year old a little bit more time of training in order to make his first appearances for Tottenham Hotspur, which, like with Dejan Kulusevski, will initially occur off the bench for a few weeks before being back in the saddle.

While Wilson Odobert will almost certainly not be a starter for Tottenham this season even when he is back to full strength, the U23 standout is still going to be an asset to this team. And he could be important. Die hard Spurs fans have not forgotten how good he was before his ACL tear happened, as it seemed like everything was starting to click.

Odobert's versatility will help in a variety of ways and take the pressure off the other attackers, and the French youth international also brings something different to the table with his quickness, agility, and ability to glide past defenders in tight spaces either in the middle of the pitch or on the flanks. He and Mathys Tel take up similar positions and are teammates for club and country, but they are totally different profiles.

Roberto De Zerbi has an army of super subs at his disposal, including an even more tantalizing prospect in the home grown Luca Williams-Barnett, who can also play on either wing or as an attacking midfielder. And Dejan Kulusevski, until he is ready to start, is also a major super sub.

Odobert will be in that bracket of players who can come right in and change a game for Tottenham in the final 15-30 minutes, and it will be great to have him back, potentially, at this rate, as early as December, a full month earlier than many had thought.