Dominic Solanke’s gametime since Thomas Frank took over has been very limited.
Dominic Solanke has hardly featured for Tottenham Hotspur so far this season as he continues to struggle with an ankle injury.
The English striker made three late substitute appearances in August, in the Super Cup and then in Spurs’ first two league games of the season against Burnley and Manchester City. But he had to undergo minor ankle surgery on October 1 and is still working towards his return.
Given Spurs‘ struggles in the final third, many supporters are eager to know when Dominic Solanke will return to action. However, over two months later, the club-record buy is still closer to rejoining the first-team squad, despite Thomas Frank hinting that Solanke could be back after the November international break.
Earlier this week, Mathys Tel replaced Solanke in Tottenham’s Champions League squad, with the Frenchman coming off the bench for his first Champions League appearance against Slavia Praha on Tuesday night. While Frank has said the England international did not suffer a setback in injury and getting Tel in the Champions League squad due to UEFA regulations was an opportunity they could not miss, the latest injury update on the player is quite a pitiful one.
Tottenham handed a grim Dominic Solanke injury update
Now, according to Tottenham insider Paul O’Keefe, Solanke could be out until as far as February:
“Think he’s done for the year and probably January into Feb,” Paul O’Keefe said on X.
This is quite a grim latest update delivered by a Spurs insider on Solanke’s potential return from injury. Over the last couple of years, the club’s medical department has attracted a lot of criticism for the way they’ve handled injuries of players. With regards to Solanke, they clearly made a blunder by allowing him to play a couple of games at the start of the season rather than persuading him to undergo surgery at the start of September itself.
The way in which Frank and Tottenham are treating the England internationals’ rehab may lead some to doubt that there has been another setback, and the club do not want to attract criticism from fans and pundits alike by giving further details to it.
If Solanke is indeed ruled out until February, it would raise further questions over the Lilywhites’ poor medical department and their working methods. This should also see him miss several crucial games in the Premier League, Champions League and the FA Cup, which starts from the second week of January 2026.
For now, it puts pressure on Richarlison and Randal Kolo Muani to carry on shouldering the responsibility of leading the Spurs’ attack. Tel also remains an option, but he is more effective down the left. If Solanke has really suffered a setback, the north Londoners may even be forced to dip in the winter transfer window for a new striker.
