Thomas Frank has spoken about Dominic Solanke’s rehabilitation after the England international was replaced by Mathys Tel in Tottenham’s Champions League squad.
The Tottenham Hotspur striker is yet to start a game this season, and he continues to recover from the ankle surgery he underwent in September.
Solanke has refused to put a timeline on his recovery, and the frustrating thing for Spurs fans is that his return date continues to be pushed back.
Thomas Frank previously hinted that Solanke could be back after the November international break, but midway through December, there is still no sign of the striker in training.
Thomas Frank on replacing Dominic Solanke in Tottenham’s Champions League squad
Ahead of the clash against Slavia Prague, Mathys Tel replaced Solanke in Tottenham’s Champions League squad, with the Frenchman coming off the bench for his first Champions League appearance for the Lilywhites.
However, Frank denied that the decision had anything to do with the pace of Solanke’s recovery and suggested that UEFA’s rules allow the former Bournemouth striker to still play in the league phase of the Champions League.
When asked if the 28-year-old has had a setback, Frank told Football.London: “No. It was just an opportunity to get Tel in, which is nice to have that opportunity. And we can change back if we want to do that.”
When asked if he expects Solanke to be back before Tottenham’s final league phase clash against Eintracht Frankfurt at the end of January, the Spurs boss responded: “I think I’ve said before that as soon as he’s ready and available, then I will say when he’s ready.”
Are Spurs hiding something regarding Solanke?
Over the past couple of years, the Tottenham medical department has come under a lot of scrutiny for the way they have managed injuries.
They clearly made a mistake with Solanke, as the striker played a couple of matches as a substitute earlier in the season before the decision was made to undergo surgery in September.
The secrecy with which Frank and Tottenham are treating his rehabilitation may lead some to suspect that there has been another misstep and that the club do not want to open itself up to scrutiny.