On Friday, ahead of the brutal North London Derby defeat, Tottenham Hotspur manager Thomas Frank did his usual weekly news conference, and the session included some updates on his squad’s injury/fitness situation. Specifically, Frank spoke about Kota Takai (thigh), Ben Davies (thigh) and Dominic Solanke (ankle).
All are moving closer towards returning to action, but they are not there yet. They didn’t feature in the loss to Arsenal, and they are not expected to be fit for Wednesday night’s UEFA Champions League clash at Paris Saint-Germain.
UCL Matchday 5 FYIs
Tottenham Hotspur at Paris Saint-Germain
Kickoff: Wed Nov. 26, 8pm, Parc des Princes, Paris, France
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UCL Standings: Tottenham Hotspur 10th, 8 pts PSG 5th, 9 pts
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Regarding Solanke, Frank said: “Dom is not ready yet. We want to be absolutely sure, as sure as we can be, that there is no setback going forward. I’m confident he will soon be ready, but I will not put a time frame on it.”
As for the other two aforementioned Spurs players: “Kota (Takai) and Ben (Davies) both trained with the team today, first time, so that’s also positive.”
Additionally, Frank also provided an update on long-term knee injury absentee Radu Dragusin on Friday, saying:
“He played his first 45 minutes in nine months, something like that, last Wednesday, very happy with that. He trained fully today. He’s definitely getting very close to being selected – it’s just a matter of performance and probably just a few more game minutes to be fully available.”
Other than that, the injury/fitness situation remains the same, for the trip to Paris, as it was this past weekend.
James Maddison, Dejan Kulusevski and Yves Bissouma remain sidelined.
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.