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Tottenham Hotspur boss Thomas Frank has confirmed Destiny Udogie will be sidelined until the New Year with a hamstring injury.

The 23-year-old sustained the problem in last week's 2-2 draw at Newcastle and missed Saturday's 2-0 win over Brentford.

Speaking ahead of Spurs' Champions League home game against Slavia Prague, Frank confirmed Udogie would not feature again until next month.

"Destiny has unfortunately picked up a hamstring injury in the end of the Newcastle game so he's out until January unfortunately," he told a news conference, adding that Brennan Johnson is "touch and go" for Tuesday's match with an unspecified problem.

"There will be a bit of rotation [against Slavia Prague]. I think that's the right thing to do to make sure everyone is coming full for energy and freshness but also keeping a core."

Udogie's progress at Spurs has been stunted by repeated muscule injuries. He has missed 25 games with hamstring issues during his time at the club.

Frank also confirmed Yves Bissouma is subject to an internal disciplinary procedure following allegations he inhaled laughing gas for a second time.

Bissouma was dropped from the squad in August for repeated lateness and is yet to feature for Tottenham this season, having been sidelined with various injuries.

He is currently recovering from ankle surgery but a report in The Sun allegedly showed footage of Bissouma inhaling nitrous oxide in November.

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Nitrous oxide was made a Class C drug in 2023 as part of the UK government's anti-social behaviour action plan and possession of it for recreational use is an offence.

"It is an internal matter that we are dealing with at the moment," said Frank on Bissouma. "When we have dealt with that, then I will have a comment on that."

Spurs vs. Brentford (6 Dec, 2025) Live Score  ESPN

A wonderful individual display by Xavi Simons inspired Tottenham to a first Premier League home win since August with a much-needed 2-0 victory over Brentford.

Pressure had started to mount on Thomas Frank after a succession of tepid home displays and a run of three defeats in four matches, but for the visit of his old club he recalled Simons to great effect.

It took Simons only 25 minutes to set up Richarlison's opener before the £52 million playmaker got off the mark in his 19th appearance with a fine solo goal in the 43rd minute to clinch Spurs only a fourth home win in the league in 2025.

Frank embraced Brentford boss Keith Andrews before kick-off and multiple members of the visitors' backroom staff, but it was quickly down to business, with Simons given his first start since November 8.

Simons' recent exclusion had puzzled fans and he was in the thick of the action in the early exchanges as Tottenham attempted to start strongly after a shambolic opening against Fulham.

Micky van de Ven sent a header over after seven minutes before Richarlison had an effort blocked by Nathan Collins soon after and a wayward strike by Simons further signalled Spurs' improved intent at home.

Brentford had offered little by the midway point of the half, but the in-form Igor Thiago provided a warning sign when his snapshot forced Guglielmo Vicario into a decent save.

Tottenham's encouraging start had still not produced a shot on target but that changed in the 25th minute.

Pedro Porro played his part with a wonderful ball over the top after a positive run by Simons, who had the presence of mind to pick out Richarlison at the back post to slam home.

It was Spurs' first shot on target in the first half of a Premier League game in five weeks, and just reward.

Simons demonstrated his renewed belief with an ambitious volley off target soon after before Caoimhín Kelleher denied Randal Kolo Muani from close range from a Porro corner.

Tottenham were not content to sit on a one-goal lead and the second arrived after 43 minutes after a moment of magic by Simons.

The Netherlands attacker initially lost possession to Mikkel Damsgaard, but won it back instantly from Sepp van den Berg and carried from the halfway line to leave Yehor Yarmoliuk trailing behind before he drilled into the bottom corner to open his account for Spurs.

It was a wonderful solo effort and Simons marked it with his trademark phone call celebration on top of an advertising hoarding.

Spurs should have made it 3-0 early in the second half but Kelleher saved from Djed Spence after he burst clear in the area.

Mohammed Kudus let fly next and Simons could only fire straight at Brentford's goalkeeper after a poor clearance.

However, Tottenham's skilful winger Kudus got a telling-off with 19 minutes left when his showboating gifted the visitors a throw and Romero slide in to deny Thiago before the home captain lambasted his team-mate, but it mattered little as Frank's men finally won again at home.

Thomas Frank has insisted Tottenham Hotspur playmaker Xavi Simons has been "fantastic" in training, but offered no guarantee he will start Saturday's visit of Brentford.

Simons, 22, has endured a difficult start to life at Spurs since he completed a £52 million ($69m) move from RB Leipzig in August.

Netherlands international Xavi has only two assists in 18 appearances, but appeared to be adapting to the demands of Premier League football before the November international break with a string of improved displays before being dropped to the bench for four games in a row by Frank.

Asked if Simons was not doing enough in training, Frank said: "Xavi has trained fantastic the last five or six times we really could train. Very good attitude on the training pitch. I like that a lot.

"We played different games, with different line-ups. I think that Xavi was [working] towards something better and better and as long as he's the same like Mathys Tel, train well, good attitude, then we're getting closer and closer.

"And I think it's also fair to say that he's coming on in all four games we've played."

Even though Simons has been used off the bench in the run of three defeats in four, Frank's decision to name him as a substitute for the visit of Fulham last Saturday raised eyebrows, especially when Tottenham are struggling for creativity.

Spurs went on to lose 2-1 at home to Fulham and are winless in the nine matches that Xavi has not started since he signed towards the end of the summer transfer window.

When Simons is included in the starting line-up, Tottenham boast a record of six victories in nine but Frank insisted his desire to play with two forwards in Richarlison and Randal Kolo Muani was the main reason behind the Dutch attacker being benched last weekend.

"It's just different scenarios. We played with two strikers against PSG. Both of them scored," Frank said.

"I think it's fair to say that and I would not say that we struggled to score because we scored 23 goals. I think that's quite a fairly high amount.

"So, that's quite good, but also we played with the two just a little bit different role against Man United, so it's just different personnel and who's been a little bit in form and stuff like that."

Frank will face his old club Brentford for the first time on Saturday and despite pleasantries pre-match, it is a crucial fixture for the 52-year-old.

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Spurs' battling point at Newcastle on Tuesday provided a much-needed jolt of positivity, but Tottenham have won only three of their last 14 games in all competitions.

It was Frank who brought Keith Andrews to Brentford and the former set-piece coach will aim to increase the pressure on his old boss at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

"First and foremost, I think it's big credit to Brentford to be brave enough to promote within," Frank pointed out.

"What I saw in Keith, very good man, good values, good coach, had leadership potential, so yeah very impressive."

Luka Modric believes his failed move to Chelsea from Tottenham in 2011 was a blessing in disguise.

The Croatian midfielder had expressed his desire to join the Blues in the summer of 2011, only for Spurs to reject several bids from Chelsea for Modric.

Modric joined Real Madrid a year later, where he played for 13 seasons and lifted a record 28 titles while also winning the 2018 Ballon d'Or.

"Perhaps I shouldn't have said so publicly that I wanted to leave," Modric, now at AC Milan, said on the Neuspjeh prvaka show.

"Even so, I did very well at Tottenham. They were very tough on me, and the chairman, Daniel Levy, made it crystal clear in our first meeting [that] there was absolutely no chance they would let me go. After that, I carried on as if nothing had happened. I knew it would be complicated; both clubs are in London, and there's a rivalry."

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"I wanted to go, even though I knew it was going to be very difficult," he added.

"In the end, it didn't happen, and I kept playing, and it was perhaps one of my best seasons. We finished fourth; that year Chelsea won the Champions League.

"The season was phenomenal, and a year later, an even better opportunity came along. And in the end, it worked out even better; probably if I had joined to Chelsea, I wouldn't have gone to Real Madrid."

Modric made over 150 appearances for Tottenham, the club he signed for in 2008 in a £16.5 million ($22m) deal from Croatian side Dinamo Zagreb.

Newcastle vs. Spurs (2 Dec, 2025) Live Score - ESPN (UK)  ESPN

Tottenham's 2-1 defeat at home to Fulham on Saturday has left them stranded in 10th in the Premier League after no wins in their last four games (1D, 3L). After a strong start to life under Thomas Frank, they've spiraled into a tailspin, one that's been powered by their wretched form at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

With the help of ESPN Global Sports Research team, we dig into the stats that underline just how awful their home form has been:

Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde: the two faces of this Spurs team

Consider these two numbers -- 13 and 5.

Is this the worse they've ever been at home?

This home form has been a problem from before Frank came in.

In fact, the Fulham loss was their 10th home defeat of 2025 in the Premier League. That's their joint-most home league defeats in a single calendar year in club history (also 10 in 1994 and 2003). And they still have home fixtures against Brentford, Slavia Prague and Liverpool to go in December.

Even then, Ange Postecoglou's 17th-finishing team won more points at home (21) than away (17). In fact, through matchweek 13, Postecoglou's Spurs were 4th in the home-only table.

Historically, if they maintain this run and remain 19th on the home-only table, it will be the lowest they've been since 1993/94 when Spurs won just four of 21 home games (8D, 9L) to finish 21st.

Here are the only times Spurs finished below 10th on the home-only table in the Premier League era (overall league finish in brackets):

London derby malaise

There's one stat that makes the home record read even worse for Spurs fans: Tottenham have lost four consecutive home London derbies for the first time in the Premier League. They've been narrow defeats (1-2 to Fulham, 0-1 to Chelsea, 0-2 to Crystal Palace, 3-4 to Chelsea again) but what will irk is that very rarely in those games did it feel like Spurs had a real chance of winning.

Add to that the fact that the one away defeat this season came at the Emirates -- a 4-1 spanking in the North London Derby -- and you have a recipe for real fan unrest.

The Fulham derby also marked a new low: their 2-0 lead at the 5:43 minute mark was the earliest that Tottenham have ever conceded two goals in a Premier League home match. And that's a big problem considering Spurs haven't won any of their last 40 PL games when trailing by 2+ goals at half time (D2, L38) -- since a 3-2 win at Arsenal back in November 2010.

Where are the goals?

The fact that it's only bottom-of-the-table Wolves (six) and Burnley (five) who have scored less home goals than Spurs (eight) is bad enough but read that in conjunction with the underlying numbers and they don't paint a pretty picture. They are going at 0.9 expected goals per game at home this season in the league, with only Burnley (0.5) having a lower rate in the competition.

This has also resulted in their overall xG this season has taken a battering. At 12.0, they are 16th on an xG Premier League table, the same rank they get for shots on target per match (3.2 at 16.9% conversion). To put those numbers in perspective, Man City lead the xG table with 25.1 and Chelsea lead the shots-on-target-per-match table with 5.6 (at 13.3% conversion).

Their average of 9.5 shots and 3.2 shots on target per game in the PL this season are their lowest averages on record in a single campaign (since 2003-04).

This means that it's not just a case of forwards missing chances or luck not going their way -- in fact their conversion rate of shots-on-target-per-match to goals is the highest of any side in the Premier League this season. They simply aren't creating enough.

If you look at the chances created metric (home only), the highest a Spurs player appears at is #25, through Mohammed Kudus, who has created nine chances. As a collective, 12 other Premier League teams have created more chances in the league than their 23 (City highest with 43) and 11 teams have more touches in the opposition box than their 301 (City again highest with 444).

Frank has some work to do on his offensive setup if he is to turn this abysmal form around this season.

Thomas Frank's Tottenham tenure suffered another setback as Fulham inflicted more home woe with a 2-1 win.

Frank watched Spurs suffer a third consecutive defeat in a horror week after they conceded twice in the first six minutes at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium -- the second following a moment of madness by goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario.

An early strike by Kenny Tete and Harry Wilson's sublime lob put Frank's team immediately on the back foot and, despite Mohammed Kudus' 59th-minute effort, Tottenham slumped to their fourth defeat in six Premier League games.

This latest bad result extended an awful run of results at home, with Spurs only winning three of their last 21 home league matches.

Those statistics, combined with a string of toothless attacking displays, mean Frank has plenty of questions to answer going into December, with scrutiny growing.

A spirited display in defeat at Paris Saint-Germain on Wednesday had earned Frank some credit after the derby hammering by Arsenal where fans were scathing of his tactics.

Archie Gray and Lucas Bergvall provided green shoots of encouragement in Paris and Frank trusted the 19-year-old duo in what felt a significant fixture.

Yet before the highly-rated pair had even had time to make a handful of passes, Tottenham were 2-0 down in shambolic fashion.

Fulham broke the deadlock in the fourth minute when, within seconds of a poor header by Kevin Danso, the excellent Samuel Chukwueze cut inside from the left and picked out Tete, who had an 18-yard shot deflected beyond Vicario by Spurs' Destiny Udogie.

Tottenham were stunned but 136 second later conceded again in a moment to forget for Vicario.

The keeper rushed out to intercept Joachim Andersen's pass ahead of Raúl Jiménez, but instead of knocking the ball out for a throw, he inexplicably cleared it infield and Joshua King teed up Wilson to curl home wonderfully.

It was a sensational 40-yard lob by Wilson, but Vicario's comical error saw him heavily booed straight after by the home fans.

Chukwueze curled against a post moments later before Danso had to block a shot by Wilson.

Tottenham's lop-sided 4-2-3-1 formation with no left forward continued to struggle to create chances and only a superb tackle by stand-in captain Micky van de Ven prevented another Fulham goal as he slid in to thwart Chukwueze, who had rounded Vicario after Pedro Porro's lapse in concentration.

It was masterful defending by Van de Ven but did not stop loud boos at half-time and, despite no changes by Frank, Spurs returned with much-needed attacking intent.

Randal Kolo Muani had an effort blocked seconds into the second period before a succession of promising openings ended with a poor Tottenham delivery.

When Porro did finally produce a quality cross, Kolo Muani sent his 57th-minute header into the side-netting.

Spurs finally had momentum, though, and the deficit was reduced with 31 minutes left when Bergvall chipped into the path of Kudus and he lashed into the top corner.

Frank immediately sent on Rodrigo Bentancur, Wilson Odobert and Xavi Simons and the latter had a shot deflected over by Andersen as Tottenham pushed for a leveller.

The equaliser nearly arrived in the 67th minute when Bergvall flicked on Kudus' corner, but Jimenez brilliantly headed clear and there was no grandstand finish, with Kolo Muani sending a backheel wide as Spurs lost again at home.

Matchday 5 of the UEFA Champions League was packed with mouthwatering encounters, and Wednesday's matches delivered some incredible and shocking performances.

Arsenal took on Bayern Munich in a matchup of the top two teams in the Champions League table, and it was the Gunners who emerged victorious at home as goals from Jurriën Timber, Noni Madueke and Gabriel Martinelli propelled them to a 3-1 win. Holders Paris Saint-Germain similarly delivered against Tottenham Hotspur, winning 5-3, and Atlético Madrid defeated Internazionale 2-1 thanks to a late winner from center back José Giménez.

But the most surprising result was no other than Liverpool's 4-1 defeat at the hands of PSV Eindhoven. Dominik Szoboszlai canceled out Ivan Perisic's early penalty, but the Dutch club went on to score three unanswered and send the Anfield crowd home stunned.

Take a look back at all the highlights from another action-packed evening in Europe.

THE CHAMPIONS!

We are back with UEFA Champions League action on Matchday 5, and Wednesday's matches are full of mouthwatering encounters.