Tottenham have been dealt a major blow as Mohammed Kudus has been ruled out of action until April after suffering an injury to a tendon in his quad.
Tottenham Dealt Mohammed Kudus Injury Blow
Thomas Frank has confirmed that Tottenham winger Mohammed Kudus is out until April.
The Ghanaian was forced off after 19 minutes against Sunderland last Sunday, with Spurs going on to play out a 1-1 stalemate after Ben Davies initially put them in front on the 30-minute mark.
They have since followed that up with a 3-2 defeat away at Bournemouth, extending their winless run in the Premier League to three straight matches as they sit in 14th place in the table.
Their poor run has seen Frank become favoured in the Premier League sack race odds market.
Next up, they host in-form Aston Villa in the FA Cup third round on Saturday evening.
Speaking in his pre-match press conference ahead of the cup clash, Frank confirmed that Kudus faces a lengthy spell on the sidelines after suffering an injury to a tendon in his quad.
He said: “Mohammed Kudus unfortunately is a bigger one [injury] to the tendon in the quad. That is one where we expect him back after the March international break.”
March’s international window is scheduled to take place between the 23rd and 31st, therefore the 25-year-old is expected to be out of action until early April at the very least.
Should Tottenham overcome Villa this weekend and prevail in their FA Cup fourth round fixture, their first game back after March’s internationals will be in the FA Cup fifth round.
If they fail to reach that stage of the competition, Kudus’ first game back will likely be away at Sunderland, whom he suffered his injury against, on Saturday, 11 April.
It comes at a particularly frustrating time for Spurs, as Kudus’ natural replacement on the right wing, Brennan Johnson, was sold to Crystal Palace for £35m just days before the injury.
Latest on Bergvall, Bentancur and Kulusevski
Frank also provided updates on Lucas Bergvall, Rodrigo Bentancur and Dejan Kulusevski.
“Lucas Bergvall is being assessed today [Thursday]. We will know more later today with him.”
He continued: “Same with Rodrigo Bentancur. Rodri has a hamstring injury – looks like a bigger one, unfortunately. We don’t know the time frame. That we will know later.”
Finally, he commented: “The latest on Dejan Kulusevski. We know it is a complicated injury.
“If there is one person who can accelerate that (recovery) it is Dejan, who is a top pro and has a top mentality.
“The most important thing is to remove the pain in the knee. He had an injection to help that 10 days ago.
“We will know in 3-4 weeks if that has settled. And when it has settled, hopefully, he will be on the grass and from there, we will see what is happening.”
Elsehwere, James Maddison remains ruled out, Pape Matar Sarr and Yves Bissouma are at AFCON, while both Destiny Udogie and Dominic Solanke are nearing returns.
Should Spurs fail to beat Villa, reports suggest under-pressure Frank could be sacked.
Crystal Palace manager Oliver Glasner is the current favourite to replace him, according to the next Tottenham manager betting odds market, with Enzo Maresca also among the favourites.
The north Londoners return to Premier League action against West Ham on Saturday, 17 January.
It’s a fixture that fans will be expecting Spurs to win, with the Hammers struggling in 18th place in the table – priced among the favourites in the Premier League relegation odds market.
