On Friday, Tottenham Hotspur manager provided updates on three injured players- Randal Kolo Muani, Radu Dragusin and Dominic Solanke. Now, after a surprising (and not in a good way) score draw with Wolves, the next match is already here, a trip to Bodo/Glimt in the UEFA Champions League, matchday two. Let’s where we are, right now, in terms of the fitness situation.
Champions League Matchday 2 of 8
Tottenham Hotspur at Bodo/Glimt
Kickoff: Tue Sept 30, 8pm, Aspmyra Stadion, Bodo, Norway
Tottenham Preview Material: Team News Starting XI Prediction
UCL Standing, Form: Tottenham 14th, 3 pts, -+1 GD, W Bodo/Glimt 18th, 1 pt, 0 GD, D
Spurs Team News
“Kolo Muani’s dead leg is dragging on, he’ll be a few more days, and he’s not available,” Frank said, ruling him out of the weekend, and inherently, for this match as well. The Solanke situation is rather similar, he wasn’t ready for Wolves, and it doesn’t sound like he’s available here either, as Frank said on Friday:
“His ankle injury has been a little tricky – it’s nothing big. We’re relatively positive he will be back quickly. It’s not perfect, but we’re going forward in the right direction. He wasn’t [training] on the grass today, but he has been during the week.”
You can regard him as a “strong doubt.”
As for Dragusin, he’s making good progress, on what is obviously, a long process, but overall the timeline seems to be pretty positive.
“He’s progressing well,” Frank said.
“He’s been on the grass for three weeks and is progressing as well as it should. We all know coming back from an ACL is a long one – he’s on track – but it will be a few weeks before he’s able to be involved.”
So maybe he’s back in October, not November. Other than that, the team news situation for Spurs remains the same.
Paul M. Banks is the Founding Editor of The Sports Bank. He’s also the author of “Transatlantic Passage: How the English Premier League Redefined Soccer in America,” and “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry.”
He currently contributes to USA Today’s NFL Wires Network. His past bylines include the New York Daily News, Sports Illustrated and the Chicago Tribune. His work has been featured in numerous outlets, including the Wall Street Journal, Forbes, the Washington Post and ESPN. You can follow him on Linked In and Twitter