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.”

Sunderland just can’t shake off the links to Matteo Guendouzi. Word is, they’re still chasing the Lazio midfielder this month, even as Atletico Madrid—yeah, that Atletico—sniffs around too.

Guendouzi’s name keeps coming up with Sunderland lately. There’s talk that Regis Le Bris wants to make a bold move for him in January, especially since Guendouzi’s future in Italy looks shaky. Plenty of reports across Europe say Lazio might have to cash in on him soon because of money troubles, and Sunderland’s name always seems to pop up as a possible destination. Le Bris actually worked with Guendouzi before at Lorient, so there’s some history there.

Last month, nobody seemed sure if Sunderland could actually pull this off. At one point, journalist Giulio Cardone told RadioSei (with Lazialità repeating it) that Sunderland put in a bid of around £21.5 million. But Cardone also made it clear—Guendouzi wants to play in Europe if he can. In his words: “Sunderland made a significant offer for Guendouzi, worth €25 million. The first person Sarri wants to veto is the Frenchman. Guendouzi would like to go to England right now, but not to Sunderland: he wants something more.”

So what’s happening now? Honestly, Guendouzi isn’t short on options. Fenerbahce, who are in the Europa League, have been linked to, and some reports even suggested a deal was close.

But now Il Messaggero says Sunderland might still have a shot. First off, Fenerbahce’s supposed deal isn’t as far along as people think. Plus, Guendouzi is apparently open to leaving Lazio. Sunderland gets a mention again as a possible landing spot for him, but they’d have to beat out some serious competition—Atletico Madrid and Galatasaray are both in the mix.

And about Atletico: intermediaries actually flew to Spain on Saturday to see if they could get something going. Lazio, for their part, want about £26 million if they’re going to let Guendouzi go. So, it’s still up in the air, but Sunderland hasn’t given up just yet.