Tottenham Car Crash Duo Not Among 14 Players Unavailable for Champions League Finale
Randal Kolo Muani is described as âfineâ and expected to feature in Tottenham Hotspurâs Champions League clash against Eintracht Frankfurt on Wednesday night despite finding himself involved in a âminorâ car accident.
The front tire of Kolo Muaniâs Ferrari âblew up,â according to Spurs boss Thomas Frank, while driving to Stansted airport for Tottenhamâs flight to Frankfurt. His teammate Wilson Odobert was following him down the M25 in Hertfordshire and pulled over to check on his French compatriot. The pair consequently missed the plane, but were expected to arrive in Germany later on Tuesday.
Frank revealed that âeveryone else involved in that accident was just fine,â promptly turning his attention towards the mass of players not available for the league-phase finale with automatic qualification for the last-16 on the line.
Tottenhamâs 14 Missing Players
Micky van de Ven: Frank wrote it off as a âminor, minor thingâ and opened the talisman centre back up to some involvement against Manchester City on Sunday.
Pedro Porro: The right back is expected to be sidelined with a new hamstring injury for four weeks.
Lucas Bergvall: Ankle surgery has ruled out the Swedish youngster until April.
Richarlison: Tottenhamâs top scorer will do well to recover from a hamstring injury in the next month.
Mohammed Kudus: The one reliable creative outlet at Frankâs disposal this season is not expected back until April.
Rodrigo Bentancur: The severity of Bentancurâs hamstring injury was enough to convince Spurs to sign Conor Gallagher.
Ben Davies: A failed move to buy Andy Robertson was ignited by the ankle surgery Davies has been forced to undergo.
James Maddison: Tottenhamâs sidelined creator is more likely to appear in another boo-hoo campaign before he gets back on the pitch.
Dejan Kulusevski: The most concerning thing about Kulusevksiâs knee injury is the lack of any return date.
Yves Bissouma: Despite actually being fit, he isnât registered for the Champions League after falling out with Frank over the summer.
Mathys Tel: Much to the Frenchmanâs disdain, he has been removed from Tottenhamâs Champions League squad (for the second time this season) to make way for Dominic Solanke.
Radu DrÄguÈin: After starting the season with an ACL tear, another player Spurs could very much do with is ineligible.
Souza: New signings cannot be registered until the knockout phase of the competition gets underway, denying Souza a spot this week.
Conor Gallagher: The necessity of Gallagherâs signing has been questioned in some quarters, but the need for any warm body at Spurs is clear.
How Thomas Frank Can Set Up Against Eintracht Frankfurt
It wasnât all doom and gloom for Frank. The beleaguered Spurs boss was able to welcome the midfield duo of João Palhinha and freshly crowned Africa Cup of Nations champion Pape Matar Sarr back to the squad, offering some much-needed fit bodies to compete with the likes of Archie Gray and Xavi Simons in midfield.
It will be all change in the middle, which is no bad thing after Bissouma and Gallagher were pulled apart by Burnley in the second half of last weekendâs demoralising 2â2 draw. There will also likely be a shift to a back four in the absence of Van de Ven, although Djed Spenceâs return to his natural right back position may be a blessing for all involved.
Frankfurt have the leakiest defence in the Bundesliga and are still in search of a permanent manager. Despite their decimated resources, Spurs still have a good chance of extending their strong Champions League form.
Tottenham Predicted Lineup (4-2-3-1)
Starting XI: Guglielmo Vicario; Djed Spence, Kevin Danso, Cristhian Romero, Destiny Udogie; João Palhinha, Archie Gray; Wilson Odobert, Pape Matar Sarr, Xavi Simons; Dominic Solanke.
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GREY WHITEBLOOM
Grey Whitebloom is a writer, reporter and editor for Sports Illustrated FC. Born and raised in London, he is an avid follower of German, Italian and Spanish top flight football.
