The latest Spurs injury updates and team news ahead of their Champions League opener against Villarreal.
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Tottenham Hotspur make their Champions League return on Tuesday night when they welcome Villarreal to north London for the first of eight league stage matches – but Thomas Frank will be without several key players as they look to get their European campaign off to the best possible start.
Not only will have to continue to navigate long-term injuries to the likes of James Maddison and Dejan Kulusevski, but there are doubts over the availability of striker Dominic Solanke as well. In total, as many as six Spurs players could be absent this evening.
We’ve got all the latest team news and our predicted starting XI for the showdown with Villarreal below ahead of the 20:00 BST kick-off.
Will Dominic Solanke be fit to face Villarreal?
There has been some confusion over the severity of a recent ankle injury which sidelined striker Solanke for the last two league matches – but while a journalist’s report which suggested that he could be set for surgery seems to have been wide of the mark, he is still expected to be unavailable for the game against Villarreal.
Solanke was absent from Monday’s open training session and Frank has now confirmed that he is “not ready to be involved” in the Champions League opener – but the Dane did state that the 28-year-old is “taking steps in the right direction.”
Solanke aggravated an ankle injury that he sustained in pre-season ahead of the recent defeat to his former club Bournemouth and hasn’t returned to training since, but the injury is not expected to be long term.
Richarlison is likely to start as Spurs’ centre-forward having been rested for the start of the recent 3-0 win over West Ham United. Randal Kolo Muani could make his debut for the club but is likely to start on the bench as he builds up to full match fitness having not played since the Club World Cup in July.
Will Xavi Simons start for Spurs in the Champions League?
New signing Xavi Simons made his first Spurs appearance in the West Ham match, setting up Pape Matar Sarr’s opening goal before being replaced by Richarlison late on, and could be in line to start out wide again with Mohammed Kudus taking the right-sided role.
Simons’ introduction to the squad led many pundits to suspect that Frank would switch to a 4-2-3-1 formation but instead the head coach stuck to the 4-3-3 that has worked well for the early phase of the campaign and played Simons as a winger. The Dutchman’s performance was strong enough that he may well get the nod again ahead of Brennan Johnson.
Rodrigo Bentancur, who was rested for the game against West Ham, was expected to return to the line-up to face Villarreal but an impressive outing for youngster Lucas Bergvall means that competition for a place in midfield may be fierce than expected.
James Maddison and Dejan Kulusevseki (both knee) remain out, with Kulusevseki not expected back until the winter, defender Radu Dragusin (knee) is also out until late 2025 and Yves Bissouma is still sidelined with an unknown injury. He is likely to be available for selection around the end of the month. Summer signing Kota Takai is expected to return from a foot injury in the near future, but Tuesday’s match is likely to come too soon.