Tottenham Hotspur winger Mohammed Kudus looks set to be unavailable for their Premier League fixture away to Bournemouth with a leg injury, said head coach Thomas Frank.
Kudus was substituted in the 19th minute of Tottenham’s 1-1 draw against Sunderland on Sunday after going down injured. In his pre-match press conference ahead of Bournemouth on Wednesday evening, Frank said the Ghana international winger had a scan on Monday afternoon, and the club is awaiting the results.
“He’s going for a scan here, one o’clock, to clarify the issue,” Frank said. “So unfortunately I don’t have a big update on it.
“Most likely he will be out for Bournemouth, yeah.”
Kudus was replaced by Randal Kolo Muani on the right wing, a natural striker who has played across the front line in recent weeks. Brennan Johnson had previously been the most likely candidate to step in for Kudus in the event of injury or rotation, prompting questions on why the Wales international was allowed to depart for Crystal Palace in the thick of the dense fixture list during the festive period.
“Brennan has made himself a club legend in some ways,” said Frank. “Scoring the winning goals in Bilbao, winning the fantastic Europa League trophy. Done well with the top scorer last year I think in all competitions, doing well.
“Then Mo Kudus came in, playing in the right wing, which is also Brennan’s best position, not that he can’t play to the left. And then for the long term plans, there was an opportunity to sell Brennan now and give him an opportunity to try something else, so that was the right decision.”
Mathys Tel came in to the starting line-up against Sunderland and impressed, offering a goal threat from the wings and could be set to see more game time in Kudus’ absence.
“I think it’s pretty fair to say that we are maybe a little bit short on offensive options,” Frank said when asked if Tel is likely to remain at the club through January. “Hopefully. I think also it’s fair, there’s no one who’s really grabbed that shirt on the left-hand side. So I think that’s definitely up for grab. I think it was a positive performance from Mathys. I think he did some positive things and got into good situations.”
However, while Dominic Solanke has returned to first-team training, he is still not yet ready to be involved in matchday squads. Frank described the England international striker as looking “a little bit rusty”, and it will “take some time” before he can contribute on the pitch.
“Today you could see in training that he’s nice and composed on the ball,” said Frank. “Good decisions, good touches. A little bit more competitive(ness) in the small-sided (games), he looked a little rusty, which is completely normal. Now he’s unfortunately been out for what, at least six months. So of course, it will take a little bit of time.