Heading into the weekend score draw with West Ham United, Tottenham Hotspur manager Ange Postecoglu said that Heung-Min Son (ankle), James Maddison (knee) and Dominic Solanke (thigh) were all doubts. This trio of players (the team talisman, the most important player in the middle of the park and the club’s record signing) all missed out on Sunday. Not that it mattered too much, as it was a meaningless score draw that had zero impact on anything of significance in the table.
As for the match that does matter, this Thursday at Bodo/Glimt, the team news regarding this trio is a win, draw and loss.
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Tottenham Hotspur vs Bodo/Glimt
Aggregate: Tottenham leads Bodo/Glimt 3-1
Kickoff: Thurs. May 8, 8pm, Aspmyra Stadion, Bodo, Norway
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Solanke is the win, as it sounds like he’ll be cleared to play, with Postecoglu saying yesterday: “Dom is improving. We obviously left him out today, but the medical team are pretty confident he should be right for Thursday.”
Son is the draw, as we’re in wait and see mode. He’ll need to pass a late fitness test. Maddison is, unfortunately, the L, as it sounds like he might be sidelined for awhile.
“It doesn’t look great, but we’re just waiting for further information. Hopefully, we’ll probably get some clarity [on Monday]. It’s fair to say it doesn’t look promising, but I’ll just wait and see.”
From the sound of that statement…we probably won’t see Maddison feature again this term.
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