Porro and Udogie absent, Sessegnon trains - 5 things spotted in Tottenham open training session

It was all change for Ange Postecoglou's Tottenham squad on Thursday morning with a rare training session at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on the agenda. Rather than putting in the work at the club's Hotspur Way training base as usual, Son Heung-min and Co. trained in front of a crowd at Spurs' home.

Premium Members, Season Ticket Holders and One Hotspur Members were all in attendance and kept a very keen eye on the training preparations ahead of Saturday's Premier League encounter against Wolves. football.london also did likewise and here are five things we spotted in open training in N17.

Trio absent

Things have been looking up on the injury front for Tottenham of late with some key players returning at such a crucial time in the season. For last weekend's home match against Brighton & Hove Albion, Postecoglou virtually had a fully-fit squad to choose from with only Manor Solomon, Giovani Lo Celso and Ryan Sessegnon absent.

Despite receiving a major boost in terms of injuries of late, some eagle-eyed Tottenham fans spotted a couple of absent players from their training session in N17. There was no sign of left-back Destiny Udogie, who came off in the final ten minutes of the Brighton game, and fellow full-back Pedro Porro was also absent.

All will be hoping that both are in a position to be involved against Wolves on Saturday, with Postecoglou set to provide an injury update when he speaks to the media at Hotspur Way on Friday afternoon. Fraser Forster also appeared to be missing from the training session as only Guglielmo Vicario, Brandon Austin and Alfie Whiteman could be seen working with goalkeeper coach Rob Burch.

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Lo Celso steps up his fitness

Not featuring for Tottenham since coming off in the second half of the FA Cup third round win over Burnley at the beginning of January, Lo Celso could soon be back on the pitch for Tottenham. Getting a full week of training under his belt ahead of the Brighton game, Postecoglou admitted in his pre-match press conference that he would need to make a call over the Argentine in terms of his matchday squad.

Lo Celso, in the end, was left out but there's a very good chance he could be included this Saturday at home to Wolves. The midfielder was once again involved in the open training session at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium and was moving about freely with no issues at all as he put himself about in his quest to impress the coaching staff.

A key player for the team in November and December, Lo Celso will be intent on making an impact for the Lilywhites once he is finally back on the pitch.

Sessegnon boost

Like Lo Celso, Sessegnon's last Tottenham appearance came in the FA Cup win over Burnley in early January. Enduring such a frustrating time once again with injury keeping him on the sidelines for virtually all of the season, the left-sided player will be looking to return to action sooner rather than later as he bids to show Postecoglou what he can do.

Given Sessegnon is out of contract at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in the summer of 2025, he really needs to be back on the pitch consistently if he wants to stay with the club beyond his current contract expiry date. The 23-year-old was involved with the rest of the playing squad in the open training session and he will be looking to build on it in the weeks and months ahead.

Hopefully the player has luck on his side between now and May as he looks to finish the 2023/24 campaign on a positive note.

Academy ace involved

A number of Tottenham's talented academy players have trained with Postecoglou's first-team squad on a regular basis this season. Not only needing the players to step up and help make up the numbers due to the amount of injuries, the youngsters involved have also deserved the opportunity after making a real impression for the academy over the course of the campaign.

Some Tottenham fans may have spotted Max Robson in the photographs published by the club in recent weeks, including one of the 21-year-old with a number of the first-team squad celebrating a win in their training game. The midfielder was again involved in first-team training at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium and he will be aiming to follow in the footsteps of fellow academy players Jamie Donley and Alfie Dorrington by eventually making the matchday squad.

A very intense training session

Postecoglou was out on the pitch at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in good time before his players emerged from the tunnel at 11.30pm. Despite the change of location and with all eyes on the squad, it was, as ever, another intense training session ahead of Saturday's game against Wolves.

Those watching on either from home or at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium would have noticed just how hard the players work for Postecoglou and his coaching team on a daily basis. The Australian did have a watching brief as he paid close attention to his coaching staff delivering a training drill for the players.

That was evident early on in training as the players were separated into three different groups during a possession-based passing drill. Going through a number of different drills over the course of the hour, with even players such as Cristian Romero, Radu Dragusin and Micky van de Ven practicing penalties at one point, the 10,000 fans inside the ground certainly enjoyed every minute of watching their heroes in action.

The Tottenham players loved every minute of it too and showed their appreciation to the fans come the end of training as they went on a lap of honour before signing autographs and posing for photos with members.