Tottenham Hotspur’s attacking options took a major hit one day after their 2-2 draw against Manchester United. A report on social media by French journalist Fabrice Hawkins states that on loan striker Randal Kolo Muani has suffered a fractured jaw and is out indefinitely.
Hawkins’ focus is mostly on how RKM’s injury affects the France national team, but it’s obviously significant for Tottenham as well. Kolo Muani was subbed off at halftime by Thomas Frank for Wilson Odobert, and at the time most fans probably thought the decision was tactical. In fact, I had criticized it at the time as RKM was doing better than Richarlison, the other obvious option. But if it’s an injury that makes a lot more sense, especially since Frank very rarely makes halftime subs unless he has to.
I have no idea how long it takes for a fractured jaw to heal, or how that injury can or will affect Randal’s ability to play football. A quick Google suggests a jaw can take 6-8 weeks to heal WITHOUT surgery, and of course speculation is fruitless since we don’t know the extent of the injury or whether he’ll be able to play at all.
But let’s assume he’s out a while, which sucks because he was only recently coming back from a severe dead leg and was starting to round into form. That leaves Richarlison, Mathys Tel, and Dane Scarlett as the team’s three striker options, although there are suggestions that Dominic Solanke might be ready to return after the international break.
Spurs had ten players unavailable last week, and the team’s injury crisis has been low-key just as bad as last season’s; they just aren’t getting as much sympathy as they did last season under Ange. But its bad out there, folks.