Maybe a new competiition is what Tottenham Hotspur needs to revitalize their season? Here comes the FA Cup, in which Spurs will enter via the third round, and face a tough opponent in Aston Villa. We do know that the Premier League competition is certainly not going their way, with their extra time collapse at AFC Bournemouth last night dropping them down to 14th in the table. Spurs are without a lot of key guys right now, including Mohamed Kudus (thigh), Dominic Solanke (ankle) and Destiny Udogie (thigh).
FA Cup 3rd Round FYIs
Tottenham Hotspur vs Aston Villa
Kickoff: Sat. Jan 10, 5:45pm
Team News: Tottenham Hotspur Aston Villa
Venue: Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, London, UK
Spurs Team News
First year manager Thomas Frank provided a couple updates on their injury situations.
“Both of them are getting closer,” Frank said earlier today “Destiny, a bit closer than Dom (Solanke), obviously, because he’s only been out for five weeks(ish). So that’s, of course, less than six months – both are positive and improving.”
Neither one will be available against Villa, but it sounds like a return is in the cards for both of them within the month; maybe even within the next couple months. As for Kudus, Frank said that the summer acquisition from West Ham United has now gone for a scan to diagnose the extent of the injury.
So he’ll be out awhile.
Meanwhile Dejan Kulusevski, Lucas Bergvall and Rodrigo Bentancur remain out, with no timeline for return. James Maddison is out for the season while Pape Matar Sarr and Yves Bissouma remain away at AFCON.
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, RG.org and Ratings.org. 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 and the Washington Post.