Roberto De Zerbi took off new £85m Tottenham signing Savio against Nottingham Forest due to new policy

ROBERTO DE ZERBI’S decision to take off Savio and Destiny Udogie at the weekend was part of Tottenham’s new approach to injury prevention. The pair were replaced in the 61st minute during Saturday’s 0-0 draw at Nottingham Forest because of medical advice ahead of the game. Savio came off in the 61st minute against Nottingham Forest Credit: Sports Press Photo/Shutterstock Spurs have been hit by a crock crisis for both of the last two campaigns which have played a significant role in their back-to-back 17th-placed finishes. The North Londoners launched an extensive review over the summer into why last term – which saw the club escape relegation on the final day – was so best with fitness problems. Sign up for the Football newsletter Thank you! It was led by performance director Dan Lewindon, who joined from the City Football Group in February. SunSport understands one of the consequences of that review has been a far more cautious approach to using players who are not at 100 per cent, on the guidance of Lewindon and Ali James, the club’s new head of medical services. That led to £85million new-boy Savio being left out against Newcastle last Saturday on doctors’ orders because of “muscle fatigue”. De Zerbi then heeded the information given by the medical staff for Forest, taking off both the Brazilian winger and left-back Udogie – who has a history of hamstring issues – after the hour. The Spurs boss has bought into the new policy. Though he would prefer to have his best players out on the pitch for longer, he agrees that a strategy designed to keep players fit for the long term is better than risking injury just for the sake of another 15-20 minutes in a game. Most read in Sport While managing players’ fitness should be far easier this term given the deeper squad Spurs have following a mega-money transfer spend that surpassed £300million this summer. De Zerbi confirmed in the post-match press conference: “Before the game, the plan was Savio and Udogie around 60 minutes, because it’s dangerous, no? “Savio has not the best physical condition to play 90 minutes. He’s an important player for us, a crucial player. Destiny is another crucial player for us. “I’m not happy when we have the plan, but it’s for my advantage, for my business, the management of the players after injuries.” Tottenham currently have Xavi Simons and Wilson Odobert out with serious knee injuries, while Dejan Kulusevski and James Maddison are still working their way back from long-term crocks. Both last season and the campaign before, there were matches when Spurs’ injury list was into double figures. Comment now