Solanke ruled out for 6 weeks following knee surgery as Spurs’ injury crisis shows no signs of slowing down.
Solanke played 90 minutes for Tottenham against Arsenal on 15 January but has not featured since
As Tottenham’s injury situation worsens, head coach Ange Postecoglou says attacker Dominic Solanke would be sidelined for “around six weeks” due to a knee issue.
14 senior players missed Spurs’ 3-2 Europa League victory over Hoffenheim on Thursday, including Solanke.
Postecoglou then stated that he anticipated Solanke’s absence until early March, which means he will miss a number of Premier League games in addition to their second-leg matchup with Liverpool in the Carabao Cup semi-final.
“With Dom [Solanke], the information now is around the six-week mark with him,” Postecoglou said.
“No surgery but we’re looking around six weeks. It might be quicker but we’ll see.”
Solanke joins Brennan Johnson and Timo Werner, two more forwards, on a long list of injured players.
Some players, including first-choice goalie Guglielmo Vicario, have been out for a long time, but others, like Pape Sarr, Cristian Romero, and Yves Bissouma, are almost ready to return.
Spurs’ injury problems have left them shorthanded. Only eight substitutes, including two goalkeepers and five adolescents, were available for Postecoglou to use against Hoffenheim.
Callum Olusesi, a 17-year-old rookie, was one of three players that came off the bench against Hoffenheim who were all 19 years of age or younger.
“These guys are giving everything they can. It should not be dismissed that I had five teenagers [on the pitch],” Postecoglou said.
“We are a Premier League outfit playing in an away game in Europe and we had five teenagers out there. It is pretty much unheard of in an important game, not a dead rubber. And that goes to show the load these guys are willing to take on themselves, without making excuses.
“I could not speak highly enough of the players carrying us through. They will get some help hopefully soon with some players coming back. We are in a real good position in Europe.”
If Spurs defeat Elfsborg on matchday eight, they will move up to fourth place in the Europa League standings and become one of the eight teams to advance directly to the knockout stage.
Their league performance stands in sharp contrast to their cup progress. They have dropped to 15th place in the Premier League, eight points above the relegation zone, after winning just one of their last ten games.