Tottenham striker Dominic Solanke has not featured since the end of August but is close to making his comeback from injury
Dominic Solanke has admitted his time out injured has been "difficult", although the Tottenham striker believes the squad can achieve "big things" when he does return.
Signed from Bournemouth in a club-record £65million deal in August 2024, Solanke has endured a frustrating start to the 2025/26 season under new boss Thomas Frank. An ankle injury has meant the 28-year-old has featured just three times for Spurs this term, with his last appearance coming in the 2-0 win over Man City on August 23.
The former Liverpool and Chelsea man saw his pre-season disrupted by the reoccurring ankle injury and the striker ended up having "minor surgery" to try and rectify the issue at the end of September. Now nearing a return, Solanke has explained just how frustrating the past three months have been.
“It’s been very difficult,” Solanke told The Athletic. “At first, I didn’t think I would be out for too long but we didn’t really understand the extent of the injury.
"I was trying to get back as quickly as I could but it didn’t happen, so I had to have surgery. Since then, I have been working to get back.
“I’m not putting a timeline on it because I’ve been telling everyone ‘I’m going to be back soon’ for the last few months. I’m taking it day by day but hopefully I won’t be much longer.”
Solanke is not expected to return for Sunday's North London Derby against Tottenham, nor the midweek Champions League clash with PSG. He has been back in the gym building up his strength in recent weeks and has also seen external specialists about the injury.
The striker is looking forward to working with Frank, who joined from Brentford in the summer and has already made a number of changes to how the club operates. “I haven’t had the chance to work with (Frank) too much but he is a great man manager,” Solanke said.
“All the players are loving having him around. He speaks with us all and has meetings every day. Even with the coaching staff he has brought in, everyone gets on so well. It’s a great environment.
“We have had a good start to the season. When a few of us come back (from injury) and strengthen the squad, hopefully we can do some big things.”
Elsewhere on the injury front, James Maddison, Dejan Kulusevski, Yves Bissouma, Archie Gray and Ben Davies remain sidelined. There's also fitness concerns over Radu Dragusin, Kota Takai, Lucas Bergvall, Mohammed Kudus, Randal Kolo Muani and Pape Matar Sarr going into the North London Derby.