Thomas Frank issues injury update on Tottenham trio and makes transfer admission

Thomas Frank has provided an update on the injuries to Dominic Solanke, Destiny Udogie and Dejan Kulusevski, while also confirming that Tottenham are still in the market for a number 10 this transfer window.

Tottenham's previously positive pre-season under the Danish manager concluded with a disappointing 4-0 defeat to Bayern Munich on Thursday night. Frank's team were outclassed and outmatched by a side featuring two new Ballon d'Or nominees, Harry Kane and Michael Olise, who wreaked havoc on the Premier League side during their visit to the Allianz Arena. The second half saw a youthful Bayern side take over.

Kane and Olise teamed up for the first half's only goal 11 minutes in, with the England skipper controlling a ball from the former Palace player and slotting it home inside the left-hand post, despite appearing to be offside. The ex-Spurs player then slipped and fired a penalty over the crossbar minutes later after Josip Stanisic was brought down in the box under minimal contact from Tottenham's new signing Joao Palhinha, who was making his debut following a loan move from Bayern.

Bayern netted a second before the hour mark when Djed Spence surrendered possession down the right flank and Konrad Laimer fed Kingsley Coman who drifted inside and bent a strike beyond Guglielmo Vicario. A third arrived when 17-year-old substitute Lennart Karl swept home a first-time effort before 18-year-old Jonah Kusi-Asare unleashed another stunning strike from out wide to seal the comprehensive victory.

"I think we played a very good Bayern team that performed very well tonight," Frank told football.london. "We obviously didn't perform as good, so that was a bad combination, and I think we lacked energy, and we can't play without energy against a team like Bayern.

"I don't think it's because the players didn't want to do it. We've seen it with plenty of energy against Arsenal and Newcastle, for example, especially with the Arsenal performance, which was a good one. So, I think it's definitely a game we'll learn a lot from. It's a team that will compete for the Champions League title that we played today. There's bits we'll definitely learn from this game.

"I think we played a game where there were a lot of factors already, so I think right now we'll watch it back calmly, while not making too many conclusions now. But we learn every every day on the training pitch. Every match. we learn. So we definitely learned today. We're not at a top consistency yet. Hopefully that's what we will build towards."

Frank is dealing with the blow of losing James Maddison, as it has been confirmed that the 28-year-old midfielder will undergo surgery for an anterior cruciate ligament injury and will be absent for most of the upcoming season.

"I think that's devastating news for the team and for Maddison. No doubt that we will miss him, and he will miss us. So right now, we just need to get through the first difficult spell until the surgery, and then in a few weeks after that there will be a little light that turns on and then he can work forward," he expressed.

Frank also gave updates on Solanke, Udogie and Kulusevski's recovery from ankle, knee and patella injuries respectively and their potential return dates.

"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," the Dane explained.

Frank expressed his hope that Solanke would be ready for the start of the season and regarding Udogie added: "I'm not worried. We'll just know more info in a couple of days."

Spurs were already in search of a new number 10 prior to Maddison's injury, having failed in their attempt to sign Morgan Gibbs-White from Nottingham Forest, and Frank was asked if the need for a newcomer in that role had become more urgent this week.

"I think we are definitely in the market in general. Of course, when players get a long-term injury we need to look into that, but generally we are in the market yes," he said.

When asked if any potential deals were near, Frank added: "Nobody feels close or far away. I'm not saying anything before there's anything that is completely 100%."

Palhinha featured for 45 minutes during his Tottenham bow against his former club, with the 30-year-old ex-Fulham midfielder playing like a player who hasn't seen much action in recent months.

"I think it's natural. There's been a very short turnaround. He just came back and he hasn't played much in a long time," Frank explained. "So we got 45 good minutes into him and that's a positive. So he needs a little building up."

Tottenham's next fixture sees them face PSG in Wednesday evening's UEFA Super Cup final in Udine, before the Premier League campaign kicks off next Saturday when Burnley visit.

This article originally appeared on football.london