Tottenham defender out for ‘weeks’ as injuries pile up already for Frank
Thomas Frank will be worried that history is repeating itself as the injuries pile up at Tottenham.
Frank will be privy to last season’s well-documented injury crisis that kept as many as 12 Tottenham players out during the winter period in North London.
The Dane arrived in N17 this summer with a handful of players still recovering from issues, and has previously spoken about how he wants to increase robustness among the squad.
Frank’s determination to get players fit for the start of the season saw him add an extra friendly against Wycombe Wanderers to the schedule last Saturday (26 July), but it has not helped him avoid an injury to a defender.
Kota Takai ruled out for several weeks
Before last Saturday’s back-to-back friendlies against Wycombe and Luton Town, Destiny Udogie and Dominic Solanke picked up injuries that ruled them out of the fixtures.
Solanke made it on the plane, which landed in Hong Kong on Monday (28 July) for Spurs’ pre-season tour in Asia, while Udogie stayed behind at Hotspur Way for treatment.
Ahead of Tottenham’s fixture against Arsenal on Thursday (31 July), Frank gave more insight into the condition of his players, announcing that Solanke is recovering well from his issue.
However, the extent of Udogie’s knee injury that he picked up in the warm-up is still being assessed, while Kota Takai has damaged a muscle in his foot that will keep him out for “weeks”.
It will be a bitter blow for both the manager and the player, who would have hoped to use the pre-season to stake his claim for a spot in the first team and get accustomed to his new surroundings.
Takai became the J1 League’s most expensive player when he joined the Lilywhites for £5million earlier this month after impressing for both his boyhood club, Kawasaki Frontale, and the national team.
Frank very careful with bringing players back so far
Frank’s approach to bringing players back into the fold in pre-season has been cautious, as he is wary of the fragility of his players.
Solanke is not expected to be risked against Arsenal, while his international colleague James Maddison is also likely to skip that match as he continues recovering from last season’s injury.
The 51-year-old manager also stated that he was exercising caution with Richarlison following his unfortunate setbacks, despite the Brazilian not picking up any recent issues.
The intensity of the season will make the luxury of making such decisions harder, but it’s a nod towards how Frank is likely to handle such decisions.
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