The Portuguese midfielder was conspicuous by his absence in recent footage released by the north London club from their training sessions

Mateus Fernandes has become a father for the first time which is likely to explain his recent absence from Tottenham training footage.

Spurs released videos and photos of the players training hard at Hotspur Way before heading off to their warm-weather camp in Marbella this week with Roberto De Zerbi looking for his squad to bond after a summer which brought 10 new additions through the doors.

While a video released by the club showed players like Dejan Kulusevski, James Maddison and most of the squad involved in seven vs seven games and more drills at the Enfield training complex, two players could not spotted. One was Lucas Bergvall, who had played well in the 1-1 draw at Manchester United on Saturday, and the other was another midfielder in 22-year-old Fernandes, who played his part in Dominic Solanke's 92nd minute leveller.

The answer when it comes to the Portuguese appears to have now been provided. The Tottenham man, signed for £85million from West Ham in the summer, posted two images to his Instagram story on Thursday evening. The first was of him bringing his newborn son home with his partner with the caption: "Welcome Goncalo".

The second photo was of Fernandes holding the new arrival, so it would appear that he was given some time off training by De Zerbi to spend time with his partner and child.

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Fernandes is yet to nail down a starting spot in the Italian's Tottenham team despite his expensive move across London.

"Mateus Fernandes is a great player. Maybe one of the best in our team. He needs time to understand the club. He needs time to come inside the environment of the club," said De Zerbi. "I have big confidence in him and all the confidence of the club, but he needs time. We have to give him time."

With Rodrigo Bentancur now suspended for three games after his red card at Old Trafford, Fernandes will be hoping for more game time even if he might have some restless nights ahead with his first steps into parenthood.