- Dominic Solanke was sent home with an illness before Sunday’s draw with Spurs
- Ange Postecoglou has now issued an update on his £65million striker
- LISTEN NOW: Manchester City correspondent Jack Gaughan joins It’s All Kicking Off! to explain whether Pep Guardiola will have money to spend in January
Tottenham will make a late call on forward Dominic Solanke ahead of his return to Bournemouth on Thursday night.
Solanke missed the 1-1 draw at home to Fulham on Sunday with illness, but is set to return to training later on Wednesday and could be in contention to take on his old club.
Spurs boss Ange Postecoglou decided to send Solanke home on Sunday because he was ‘under the weather’ and was hoping for a full recovery.
Solanke has scored six goals in 17 games since signing from Bournemouth for £65million on a six-year deal in the summer.
In November he was rewarded with his second and third England caps after a seven-year absence from the national team.
Postecoglou said: ‘Archie (Gray) got a knock but he’s recovered well. Main one is Dom and he’s due to train today.
Spurs will make a late call on Dominic Solanke’s fitness ahead of their clash with Bournemouth
Ange Postecoglou decided to send the striker home before the draw with Fulham on Sunday
‘He is still not 100 per cent but has definitely improved from the weekend. That’s it. The other injured guys are inching closer but not available.’
Guglielmo Vicario (ankle), Micky van de Ven (hamstring), Cristian Romero (toe), Rodrigo Bentancur (suspended), Wilson Odobert (hamstring), Micky Moore (virus) and Richarlison (hamstring) remain out.
Tottenham could have done with Solanke against Fulham as they struggled to carve out chances, with Brennan Johnson getting on the scoresheet but seeing his goal cancelled out by Tom Cairney.
An ankle injury previously ruled the striker out for chunks of August and September.
Not that goals have been hard to come by. Spurs are the Premier League’s top scorers with 28 goals.
Yet, despite hammering Manchester City, Aston Villa, West Ham, and Everton, they have contrived to lose five games and are therefore only seventh in the table, despite their attacking prowess.
‘I think it’s too easy to say “well, let’s just play like we did against Man City every game”,’ Postecoglou said after the draw with Fulham.
‘It somehow again seems with this club that whatever it is that we do well is then used as a millstone to bring us down in every other opportunity.’
Solanke has scored six goals in 17 games since signing from Bournemouth for £65million
Postecoglou added: ‘I know people are going to keep using City as a reference point, but against City I was able to put on Timo Werner and Brennan Johnson (as substitutes). We had Vicario in goal.
‘I guess people are looking for easy targets, but if people don’t understand what we’re dealing with at the moment and how the players are coping with it — well, I think it’s fairly self-evident.
‘We’re going to have to have days like today where things aren’t running smoothly, but all you can ask for is for the players to give everything they can and I think they did that and more today.’
More to follow.