Tottenham fans have been waiting for good news on the injury front all season, but Thomas Frank has now delivered the update everyone feared. What supporters hoped would be a slow but steady return for two of their most important attackers has instead turned into a period of silence and growing frustration.
The situation around Dejan Kulusevski and Dominic Solanke has dragged on for months, and Frank’s latest comments only deepen the concern inside the fanbase.
Kulusevski has not played a single minute for Tottenham in the 2025/26 season. His knee injury, suffered toward the end of the previous campaign, was expected to keep him out for a while, but even the most cautious fans assumed he would be back by winter.
Instead, Spurs have gone nearly half a season with no sign of his return. A player who once brought creativity, ball progression, and an element of unpredictability to the attack has now become an absence that reshapes the entire front line.
With James Maddison already ruled out for most of the season following his ACL tear, losing another experienced creator has made Tottenham far easier to defend against.
The story is no better with Dominic Solanke. Spurs spent big money on him after his strong year at Bournemouth, and while he hasn’t lived up to the full weight of the £65 million fee, he played a major role in the Europa League triumph.
Tottenham valued him because of his strength, his link-up play, and his ability to step up when it mattered most in knockout football. This was meant to be the season where he pushed on, built chemistry with his teammates, and became a regular scoring threat.
Instead, Solanke has only managed two brief substitute appearances before needing foot surgery. That early glimpse now feels like a distant memory. Tottenham have gone week after week without a timeline, without clarity, and without any sense of when one of their biggest signings will be fit again.
Fans have tried to stay patient, but patience runs out when the team is struggling for goals and lacking depth in the one position where the injury crisis feels most damaging.
Frank finally spoke about the pair ahead of the Brentford match, but his words were far from reassuring. Instead of offering progress or even the hint of a recovery stage, he simply noted that there would only be updates “when they are ready to be close to joining the squad.”
It was a polite way of saying that they are not close, not training, and not returning soon. Tottenham supporters quickly picked up on the message behind the message: if there was good news to share, he would have shared it.
This reality hits Spurs hard, not just emotionally but tactically. Without Kulusevski’s ability to carry the ball, open up passing lanes, and create chances on the right side, Tottenham have leaned heavily on Mohammed Kudus.
The pressure on him has increased with every match, and although he has shown quality, the team becomes predictable when too much responsibility falls on one player.
The absence of Kulusevski means there is no reliable rotation option, no senior attacker capable of relieving the workload, and no natural replacement with the same blend of intelligence and physicality.
Solanke’s situation creates another major hole. Randal Kolo Muani has been forced into a constant starting role, and with Thomas Frank experimenting more often with two-striker setups, the lack of depth up front becomes a major setback.
Solanke was supposed to be the partner who balanced Muani’s movement and added strength in the box. Without him, Spurs rely on makeshift solutions, which has contributed to inconsistent performances and wasted chances.
The truth is simple but painful: the two players Tottenham need the most are nowhere near returning. And in a season already filled with pressure, dropped points, and rising criticism of the manager, this kind of uncertainty could not come at a worse time. Fans expected both Kulusevski and Solanke to be contributing by December. Instead, they are left watching a team stretched thin and waiting for news that never seems to arrive.
