Thomas Frank has revealed that striker Dominic Solanke will undergo a minor surgical procedure to fix his ankle problem in a further injury blow to a Tottenham Hotspur side already missing some key men, while TEAMtalk also assesses how the Spurs boss can get more from his current frontmen.
Solanke has not featured since the 2-0 win at Manchester City in the second game of the season and has not travelled to Norway as Tottenham prepare to take on Bodo/Glimt in the Champions League.
Speaking at the pre-match press conference in Norway on Monday evening, Frank gave an update on the England international, who now faces a potentially longer stint on the sidelines.
“Dom has got that ankle issue that’s been bothering him for a little while so now it’s time to make a minor surgery,” he said.
“It’s a small procedure, so that we means he’s not ready for (tomorrow). We will have more news about timeframes after the international break but I don’t expect it to be long.”
Frank, meanwhile, also revealed that skipper Cristian Romero also missed Tottenham‘s open training session ahead of the game, although it was ‘just a precaution.
Solanke’s ankle injury, no matter how minor it is, comes as another injury blow for Spurs as they prepare to do without James Maddison for what is likely to be the whole season. Dejan Kulusevski is also out until January with his knee issue, while Randal Kolo Muani is struggling to shake off the dead leg he suffered in training that has forced him to miss the last three games.
DON’T MISS ➡️ Seven Premier League players who already need a January transfer: overlooked Mainoo, banished Sterling
Solanke the missing link for Frank
This may be a statement that could raise some eyebrows, but Solanke is the penalty-box finisher Frank needs, and the sooner he returns for this Tottenham team, the better.
One thing that Frank teams do very well is bombard the opposition with crosses into the box, and Solanke is excellent at identifying space and finishing off quality deliveries.
That is not always the case with Richarlison, who is capable of scoring spectacular goals, but it’s the bread and butter stuff that he struggles with.
The number of times already this season that the Brazilian has been sliding in on superb crosses from Mohammed Kudus and Pedro Poro on the right, in particular, but has failed to get his timing right is numerous.
Obviously, Tottenham have not really had a sample size of what Kolo Muani can do as yet but, given the amount of balls that are going in the box, Solanke would surely been able to get on the end of some of them.
To that end, Frank will be hoping the forward is able to return quickly after his surgery, and all indications are that that should be the case.
Latest Tottenham news: Key star set to be dropped; Savinho disaster
Thomas Frank is reportedly ready to drop a key Tottenham Hotspur attacking star to the bench in favour of a controversial change to his starting XI for Tuesday night’s Champions League trip to Bodo/Glimt.
Meanwhile, Brentford will not entertain any offers for Nathan Collins in the January transfer window despite renewed interest expected to arise from Tottenham Hotspur, TEAMtalk understands.
And finally, Manchester City have reached a crucial agreement with exciting winger Savinho, with Fabrizio Romano revealing the details of a new contract that’ll frustrate Tottenham.