Thomas Frank confirmed one of his Tottenham players could be out for a few weeks after suffering an injury while on international duty, while he revealed who won't feature against Aston Villa
Thomas Frank could be without as many as six players when Tottenham face Aston Villa. The Lilywhites will host Unai Emery's side in north London on Sunday afternoon as they look to climb the Premier League table.
Tottenham will hope to build on where they left off. Before the international break, Mohamed Kudus fired Spurs to a 2-1 victory against Leeds United at Elland Road, leapfrogging Crystal Palace to claim third place.
Since losing 1-0 to Bournemouth on home turf at the end of August, the Lilywhites have gone seven games unbeaten across all competitions. Aston Villa have been enjoying a rich vein of form too, winning each of their last four games.
While Tottenham are still without Dominic Solanke, who's been nursing an ankle injury, Frank could finally give one of his summer signings their Premier League debut. Speaking to reporters at the club's training ground on Friday afternoon, the Spurs boss said: "[Randal] Kolo Muani has trained now for two weeks with the team, so that's good.
"He looks better and better. He will be in contention for tomorrow, so that's positive. Dom's progressed well after the surgery, been on the pitch, he's progressing and he's going forward, so that's good."
Frank added: "[Yves] Biss, unfortunately, had a situation with the national team, I think everyone saw that, so he got a ligament injury to his ankle that will keep him out for weeks."
On whether Solanke could return before the next international break, Frank said: "I think the good thing is he's positive. He's progressing now. He's still training on his own, so I don't want to be too excited or too negative either way.
"I'm actually taking a little bit day by day and week by week to see how quickly he progresses. Dom is a naturally fit player. There are some players that naturally get that fitness up to a high level.
"But of course, also he's taken into consideration he basically hasn't trained with the team since July. That's not to say it will take three months to get up to pace. It will take a little bit of time to get up to pace. How long, I don't know."
James Maddison remains out with a knee injury after rupturing his anterior cruciate ligament during Spurs' pre-season tour of Asia. Dejan Kulusevski, had surgery on his knee in May, and Kota Takai, who suffered a plantar fascia injury in his foot in the summer, are also unavailable.
Radu Dragusin sustained an anterior cruciate ligament at the start of the year. At the end of September, Frank claimed there it would be 'a few weeks' before the defender is in contention again.
Aston Villa could be without a big name or two this weekend, too. Ollie Watkins suffered a leg injury during England’s win over Wales last week, and he was replaced at half-time.
When asked about the striker's situation, Emery suggested that he'll be ready to face Spurs. The Spaniard said: "Tomorrow we will train again, normally he will be ready for Sunday."
Then, on Emiliano Buendia and Jadon Sancho, Emery confirmed: "Both have trained normally and will be available for Sunday in case they train well tomorrow."
Tyrone Mings, however, faces a late fitness test. The Villa boss added: "He is getting better. He trained this week individually. Tomorrow, we will see how he is. The idea is to train with the team and after that we will decide."
Youri Tielemans could be sidelined for another four weeks with a calf injury. The midfielder, who's missed each of Villa's last six matches, suffered a setback in his recovery earlier this month.
Andres Garcia is yet to feature for Emery's side this season. The defender was spotted in training ahead of the season opener against Newcastle United, and again before the Bologna clash.