WHAT REALLY HAPPENED DURING DOMINIC SOLANKE’S SECRET MINOR ANKLE OPERATION?
Thomas Frank confirms Dominic Solanke won't face Bournemouth. With Kudus injured and Johnson gone, Spurs face a major striker crisis.
Tottenham head coach Thomas Frank says Dominic Solanke won’t be ready for Wednesday’s game at Bournemouth. Solanke still needs time to get back to his best.
The last time Solanke played for Spurs was August 23, away at Manchester City. That ankle injury has really held him back—he’s only managed three appearances so far this season.
He had a minor operation on October 1, and Tottenham has taken it slow with his recovery. Solanke finally got back to training last week, but Frank made it clear the 28-year-old won’t be facing his old club just yet.
“Nope, he will not, but positive going forward,” Frank said when someone asked if Solanke would make the trip.
Frank saw some good things from Solanke in training—composed on the ball, making sharp decisions, nice touches. But when things got a bit more intense, Solanke looked rusty. That’s not a shock, though. The guy’s been out for over six months. Of course, he needs time.
Frank added, even if Solanke’s ready to return soon, people shouldn’t expect him to hit top form right away. Almost no one does after being out that long.
With Solanke still sidelined and last season’s top scorer, Brennan Johnson, gone to Crystal Palace as of Friday, Spurs are pretty light up front.
Mohammed Kudus probably won’t make it either after picking up a left leg injury early in Sunday’s 1-1 draw with Sunderland. “He’s going for a scan. Yeah, most likely ruled out for Bournemouth,” Frank said.
There’s some good news, at least—Destiny Udogie is back in training after his hamstring problem and might be available. Captain Cristian Romero will play, even though the club didn’t appeal the FA’s charge about his conduct after getting sent off against Liverpool on December 20.
The FA says Romero acted improperly, didn’t leave the pitch quickly, and got in the ref’s face after that red card. Spurs responded to the charge and accepted it. As for whether Romero might get banned, Frank shrugged it off: “I honestly don’t know. He’s available for Bournemouth. That’s the game ahead for me.”
AWONIYI DOUBLE LEAVES NOTTINGHAM FOREST ON THE VERGE OF PREMIER LEAGUE SAFETY
Nottingham Forest moved closer to safety with a 3-1 win over Chelsea, while West Ham fell into the relegation zone after Spurs won.
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Nottingham Forest came out of the weekend looking pretty safe after pulling off an impressive 3-1 win at Chelsea. They’re almost clear of the relegation mess. Tottenham’s big away win at Aston Villa shook things up too, and now West Ham are back in the bottom three, running out of time faster than ever.
Forest have stepped up just when they needed to, leaving West Ham and Tottenham behind with a string of solid performances. Honestly, no one saw this coming, especially since Vitor Pereira shuffled his lineup with eight changes, fresh off a Europa League win against Aston Villa.
Even so, Forest were ahead within 90 seconds, thanks to Taiwo Awoniyi’s quick strike. By the 15th minute, Igor Jesus calmly buried a penalty after Malo Gusto’s reckless foul in the box. Chelsea had a chance to get back in it, but Cole Palmer wasted a penalty right before the break after a scary head collision involving Jesse Derry.
Awoniyi doubled down and scored again early in the second half, pushing Forest six points ahead of West Ham with just three games left.
West Ham’s weekend started badly; they looked flat and lost to Brentford. Things got worse Sunday night when Tottenham pulled off their first back-to-back Premier League wins since August 2025, beating a heavily rotated Aston Villa side 2-1.
Forest is now out of West Ham’s reach, or almost. Tottenham’s still close enough for Nuno Espirito Santo’s team to worry, but with three tough games coming up, Spurs could stay up even without another win, unless West Ham digs deep and pulls off something unexpected before their home finale against Leeds.
Right now, Forest can practically taste safety. Spurs finally see a way out after weeks of struggle. As for West Ham, they’re left hoping for a miracle, a last-minute twist to dodge the drop.
CESC FABREGAS CONFIRMS INTEREST IN PREMIER LEAGUE RETURN AMID CHELSEA'S MANAGER SEARCH
As Chelsea searches for a new manager, Cesc Fabregas breaks his silence on his future at Como and his Premier League ambitions.
Cesc Fabregas recalls exactly how a conversation with Jose Mourinho prompted him to join Chelsea, despite having the opportunity to return to Arsenal.
After winning six trophies in just three seasons, the Spanish World Cup winner left Barcelona for the second time in 2014. That summer, Fabregas made a move back to the Premier League, signing with Chelsea for about €33 million.
He already knew English football well. Fabregas had arrived at Arsenal as a 16-year-old from Barcelona in 2003 and made 212 Premier League appearances for them. When he decided to leave Barcelona, Manchester City also wanted him, but Chelsea convinced him, mostly thanks to Mourinho.
Talking with talkSPORT’s Rory Jennings on YouTube, Fabregas laid out how it all happened. “Honestly, when I made up my mind to leave Barcelona, my first thought was just to go back to Arsenal. They had this buyback clause; they had two weeks to use it after I told them I was leaving. They knew about it but didn’t take it. That surprised me a little, but in the end, I had to think about my career. I was 27, at the peak of my career, and I wanted to continue performing and winning trophies. City and Chelsea were both options.
“But when Mourinho spoke to me, that was it. He showed me his plans for the team and told me about Diego Costa, Courtois, and Filipe Luis and how, with those guys, we’d win the league. He was right, by the way. We won both the Premier League and the Carling Cup.”
Fabregas wasted no time winning over Chelsea fans. On his debut at Burnley, he set up two goals, including a stunning assist for Andre Schurrle. He finished his first season at Chelsea with five goals and 24 assists, along with Premier League and League Cup medals.
Things dipped the next season. Fabregas got just 15 goal contributions, and Chelsea slipped all the way to tenth. But when Antonio Conte took charge in 2016-17, they bounced back, and Fabregas picked up another league title.
He added an FA Cup win in 2018, his second, after his earlier one with Arsenal, and left for Monaco a few months later. His last Chelsea match came in the FA Cup against Nottingham Forest. When he got subbed off, he couldn’t hold back tears.
Chelsea supporters still sing about him; that “Oh, Fabregas is magic...” chant sticks around. And with his name in the conversation for a possible return, maybe they haven’t seen the last of him yet.
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