Tottenham have finally won a Premier League match this season - but at what cost?

LONDON -- Nobody really measures long periods of time in days. But after Monday night, it seemed the only appropriate way to count.

It was Tottenham's first Premier League victory in 148 days. Tottenham's first time higher than 17th in the table in 217 days. Dejan Kulusevski's first match in 526 days. James Maddison's first start and goal in 536 days.

Put aside your allegiances and the ending of those runs is objectively good and nice for the people involved. Kulusevski being given a standing ovation by every Spurs supporter in attendance when they saw him warm up in the first half was genuinely touching and it was made even more so by the moment not being a set-designed for clicks.

But to get what you want in life, a price must be paid, and Spurs may have forked out plenty for this win over Frank Lampard's Coventry City.

After Maddison's opener arced into the top corner, but before Kulusevski's emotional return off the bench, Tosin Adarabioyo and Andy Robertson both limped gingerly off the pitch and were replaced.

Later, Omar Marmoush's night came to an end when he hobbled off with three minutes of normal time remaining. After the game, Roberto De Zerbi told reporters that Conor Gallagher was only fit enough for the bench after suffering an unspecified issue. Destiny Udogie, Lucas Bergvall and Sávio were all fresh absentees.

Many causes have been blamed for Spurs' recent struggles -- the shifting boardroom priorities and the questionable managerial hires among them -- but in reality, it's a never-ending injury crisis that has shorn the team of quality and seen them sink fast.

The cycle hasn't stopped since Ange Postecoglou's tenure effectively imploded against Chelsea on Nov. 6, 2023 (1,079 days ago). Maddison and Micky van de Ven were the victims that day and both spent months on the sidelines.

Among the many muscles strained since then, at least six knees belonging to Tottenham players have been operated on, the most troublesome of which has belonged to Kulusevski.

Twenty-four hours after he damaged his patella in a seemingly innocuous collision with Marc Guéhi on the last day of the 2024-25 season, Ange Postecoglou famously said the Swede's injury "looks like a knock."

You can forgive Spurs fans for feeling far from secure when De Zerbi brushed off the seriousness of the injuries suffered against Coventry on Monday as "nothing important."

Something, though, has ossified in this corner of north London while Maddison and Kulusevski have been absent.

While they have been repeating their recovery routines, the team has been in one of its own: turn up, concede first goal, fail to win match.

The Maddison-Kulusevski void is evident in the numbers, too. Since their knees gave way just over a week apart in May 2025, Spurs have averaged less than a point per game.

"They are different players, different talent, different experience, different personality. With them in the dressing room, there is another atmosphere," De Zerbi admitted afterwards.

Maddison in particular feels like this team's totem. He is after all, the most quintessentially Tottenham player imaginable, and his availability from here feels crucial for De Zerbi's aspirations to be realised.

"They're the ones you dream of. Without going too deep into it, them dark days last year, recovering from the ACL, you dream of them moments, them goals and that is the light at the end of the tunnel," Maddison told Sky Sports.

"That is why I was a bit emotional and I felt really proud of Dejan Kulusevski as well because him coming back.

"I knew exactly that feeling of him stepping onto the pitch after that time out, but those moments and goals make it all worth it."

For so long this season, Tottenham couldn't buy a win, but with a trip to Stamford Bridge up next -- a ground where they haven't won for 3,128 days -- did their first victory come at too high a price?