Tottenham’s next match is this Wednesday when they host League One side Doncaster Rovers in the Carabao Cup. While it’s another mid-week match, it provides an opportunity for Thomas Frank to rest some of his regular starters and potentially give some reserves and even youngsters an opportunity to play.
Frank’s pre-match press conference also provided an opportunity to give an update on the status of some of Spurs’ injured players. Frank said that while new signing Kota Takai and veteran striker Dominic
Solanke are now back in training, it’s likely too soon for either to feature on Wednesday. Ben Davies also apparently picked up an injury in training and won’t feature either, nor will Randal Kolo Muani, who is still recovering from a dead leg that kept him out of this weekend’s draw vs. Brighton.
“Everyone available last time is available again. [Randal] Kolo Muani and Ben Davies they’ve got minor injuries but this game has just come too soon. Dominic [Solanke] and [Kota] Takai are progressing, they were training with the team today.”
That suggests that we’re likely going to see Mathys Tel feature in the forward line somewhere, possibly at striker or coming in off the left side. Players like Brennan Johnson and Wilson Odobert are also likely to feature, and we could also see some rotation in the back line. Djed Spence was rested vs. Brighton, so we could see him come in for Pedro Porro on the right with Destiny Udogie on the left. I would expect Kevin Danso also will come into the back line as well, though obviously this is all pure guesswork and we won’t know what Frank will do until the lineups drop on Wednesday.
One of the more interesting tidbits to come in the press conference concerns Dejan Kulusevski, who has been out since last May with a knee injury. Frank dropped that while he has not set a timeline for Deki’s return, he expects that he’ll be back with the team before the new year.
“Kulusevski is a top player. I always liked him when I saw him from afar. Key player for us, key player for me. I’m not putting a month on it but I want him back as soon as possible and he’s working hard to do that as are the staff. He will be back before the end of this year.”
That would be massive, as Deki would be able to add another significant piece to the front line. His return would open up all kinds of lineup possibilities based on Frank’s tactics and club opposition.
If Doncaster sounds a bit familiar to you, it’s because it is the loan club for Tottenham academy graduate Damola Ajayi. He’s had something of a bit role there so far, coming off the bench in five of Doncaster’s first nine league matches.
By rule Ajayi would normally be prohibited from playing against his parent club, Tottenham have given special permission for Ajayi to feature for Doncaster on Wednesday. That doesn’t mean that he’ll start the match, but there’s a decent chance we’ll see Damola play against Spurs. For Frank, it’s a special opportunity for Ajayi, and is part of his overall development.
“I think it’s OK. He’s on loan at another club. I know the Premier League have this if you’re on loan from a club, you’re not allowed to play [rule]. We decided to loan him out because it was good for his development. I’ve done that a thousand times. Maybe not a thousand times, a lot of times at Brentford, but we haven’t been that lucky to face one of our own players. It is what it is. I think it’s a great opportunity for him.”
Spurs kick off against Doncaster in the Cup tomorrow at 2:45 p.m. ET/ 7:45 p.m. BST. The match will be streamed on ESPN Select (formerly ESPN+) in USA.
