Tottenham Hotspur striker Dominic Solanke is set to be unavailable for six weeks with a knee injury but he does not require surgery, Ange Postecoglou has said.
The England international suffered the injury in training ahead of Sunday’s Premier League game against Everton at Goodison Park, which he missed alongside Thursday night’s Europa League victory at Hoffenheim.
Postecoglou has now said the 27-year-old is likely to be ruled out of action until March.
“All the information now is kind of we’re looking at around the six-week mark for him,” Postecoglou said of Solanke on Thursday after the match against Hoffenheim.
“No surgery, but maybe we can get him back a little bit earlier, we’ll just see how he progresses, but at this stage it’s only around six weeks.”
Solanke has joined a long list of Spurs absentees through injury, with Cristian Romero, Micky van de Ven, Destiny Udogie, Pape Mate Sarr, Brennan Johnson, Yves Bissouma, Timo Werner, Guglielmo Vicario and Wilson Odobert all currently missing.
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Postecoglou said of the players who were available after the win at Hoffenheim: “These players are exhausted. They’re professional footballers who are just 24-7 just trying to recover right now, all of them, and they’re giving everything.
“It shouldn’t be dismissed that we’re a Premier League outfit playing in an away game in Europe, and we’ve got five teenagers out there. It’s pretty much unheard of in an important game, not a dead rubber. And that goes to show you the load these guys are are willing to take on themselves without making excuses.”
Solanke has made 29 appearances in all competitions this season, providing 11 goals and six assists, having joined Spurs from Bournemouth in the summer in a £65million deal.
Tottenham host Leicester City in the Premier League on Sunday before welcoming Swedish side Elfsborg in the Europa League four days later.
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(Catherine Ivill – AMA/Getty Images)
