Tottenham Hotspur have injuries galore at the moment and that could benefit one young attacking player within Thomas Frank's ranks
Randal Kolo Muani's jaw injury could open the door for two young Tottenham players and one in particular who has found minutes hard to come by.
The 26-year-old, on loan from PSG, had to come off at half-time in Spurs' 2-2 draw with United on Saturday as he struggled in the aftermath of a collision with England international Harry Maguire just 12 minutes into the contest. Kolo Muani, who had previously missed a spell for Tottenham with a dead leg suffered in a training ground collision with Pape Matar Sarr, then had to withdraw from international duty with France and saw a specialist in the UK on Monday afternoon about his jaw.
football.london understands the specialist confirmed the forward's fracture but concluded that the Frenchman does not require surgery so his recovery time should be less than the six to eight weeks that has been speculated in recent days.
Kolo Muani had just begun to impress up front for Tottenham after regaining his fitness. His positive prognosis will come as some relief to his head coach Thomas Frank, who is still awaiting Dominic Solanke's return from an ankle problem that has dogged him since the summer.
It leaves Richarlison and France U21 international Mathys Tel, who both scored against United, as Spurs' only fit senior strikers currently.
However, it could also open the door to some minutes for academy product Dane Scarlett. The 21-year-old has played just 10 minutes of football so far this season for Tottenham, coming off the bench for a bright cameo in the Champions League win against Copenhagen. The youngster showed plenty of skill in winning a late penalty that Richarlison sent against the crossbar.
Scarlett has made 23 appearances for Spurs over the seasons, scoring once and providing three assists. He has been sent out on loan to Oxford United, Portsmouth and Ipswich over recent years but Tottenham were unable to find a suitable move for the young striker in the summer so he remained with the first team.
"I think with Dane, first of all, I think he's a great player. I think he's a fantastic finisher," Frank told football.london. "He finishes at a very, very high level, left and right foot. I think probably he needs the bits that every player needs. He needs to play minutes and games.
"That's the biggest thing and right now the competition is tough here. And to be able to give him, let's say, three, four, five games in a row is probably a little bit difficult. It's never impossible, but it's a little bit difficult. So, for me, he needs to play games."
That chance might come now with Kolo Muani out and Solanke not yet back in the fold. Tottenham will return to action after the international break with the first north London derby of the season at Arsenal and then a Champions League clash in Paris against Kolo Muani's parent club PSG.
Scarlett has been heralded by previous Spurs managers as a big talent for the future.
"He is a diamond, a kid with incredible potential,” Jose Mourinho said four years ago while in charge at Tottenham. "He has worked many times with the first team and that gives him a different personality. He is still 16, 17 soon [in March] and I believe next season he will be a first-team squad player because he has a lot of talent.
“He is going to be a fantastic player and I hope everything around him goes well. He is a striker, a number nine, I have been playing him from the sides similar to Marcus Rashford and he is very clever."
He added: "Dane has incredible talent. I don't want to speak too much because tomorrow I arrive in the building and the kid's [academy] boss is going to kill me. I don't want that so I don't want to speak too well about him. I just want to say that he will be 17 next month and I want him to be part of the first-team squad next season.
"So this season he is there and here, goes to training sessions with us and matches with the kids of his age and trains there. Next season he has to be a first-team player. Immense talent. Very good physical development. He's very good, he's going to be very good. I hope that nothing is going to destroy that potential. He must have feet on the ground and head on his shoulders because he has a fantastic talent."
Antonio Conte said of the young forward: "This guy is improving a lot. He's a really important prospect for Tottenham. I see a brilliant future for him."
Mourinho, after leaving Tottenham, then tipped Scarlett for an England spot in the future when he said: "I know he’s still very young, just 17, and it is probably too early for the next World Cup, but Tottenham Hotspur have a striker in Dane Scarlett. If everything goes well, is going to be phenomenal. For England, there is lots of promise."
Scarlett's career is yet to ignite despite brief streaks of goals in the Football League while on loan at Oxford and Portsmouth and he will be hoping that if he gets the chance for Tottenham in the weeks ahead then he can remind everyone why plenty of the game's top managers picked him out as one to watch.