Tottenham boss Thomas Frank provides latest injury update on Tottenham trio Dominic Solanke, Destiny Udogie and Dejan Kulusevski
Tottenham Hotspur’s preparations for the 2025/26 season have hit a snag, with James Maddison ruled out for the foreseeable future following an Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL) damage sustained during the 1-1 friendly draw with Newcastle United in Seoul on Sunday.
Thomas Frank’s early prognosis of the England international’s injury was not a good one, and it became a reality on Thursday. The news will come as a blow to the Spurs boss, who had been hoping to count on Maddison as a key creative force this season. With the Gibbs-White deal collapsing and no clear alternative brought in yet, the pressure will now mount on Mohammed Kudus to step up.
In addition, Thomas Frank has already been without Dejan Kulusevski and Destiny Udogie for the pre-season tour. Dejan Kulusevski suffered a knee injury back in May and had to undergo surgery, forcing him to sit out of the Europa League final against Manchester United in Bilbao. The Sweden international remains a long way from making his return.
As for Destiny Udogie, he has missed almost the entire pre-season with an unknown knee problem. Likewise, Dominic Solanke has been absent from recent friendlies, and while Frank had hoped he’d return against Bayern Munich on Thursday, he remained out.
Thomas Frank gives latest injury update on the Tottenham trio
On Thursday, Frank watched his Spurs side lose 4-0 to Bayern Munich at the Allianz Arena in the final pre-season friendly ahead of facing Paris Saint-Germain in next week’s UEFA Super Cup. Tottenham were second best in every department against Bayern Munich, in what will be a big concern for Frank ahead of facing a star-studded PSG team.
After the Bayern friendly, the Tottenham gaffer was asked to give an injury update on Solanke, Udogie and Kulusevski, to which, he told Football London:
“I think it’s three different cases. I think Dom is quite soon that he’ll be available. Destiny we’ll know more about in the next couple of days. In terms of how it looks in detail and Kulusevski is out for a long time, which I spoke about before.”
Uncertainty ahead of the UEFA Super Cup
The Bayern game was somewhat of a litmus test for Frank’s side and they failed it miserably. It showed the team is clearly not ready for the UEFA Super Cup game and the new season.
The injuries to key players have not helped the team’s cause and the game against PSG next week is now looking like a scary proposition. Whether Solanke returns from injury for the big Super Cup clash remains to be seen, but Frank needs further reinforcements or we could be in for another long, taxing campaign.
