Tottenham handed major injury blow before second leg of Liverpool semi-final

Tottenham Hotspur have been dealt a major injury blow with news that Dominic Solanke will miss the next six weeks, ruling him out of the Carabao Cup semi-final second leg against Liverpool.

Spurs head to Anfield in just under two weeks and lead 1-0 from the first meeting earlier this month, with Lucas Bergvall scoring the only goal in controversial circumstances. The victory offered a rare reprieve in what has been a difficult few weeks for manager Ange Postecoglou.

His fortunes worsened again this week with news emerging that Tottenham has suffered another injury blow as first-choice striker has been ruled out of the Liverpool clash . Solanke sustained a knee issue in training and missed the Europa League clash against Hoffenheim.

“With Dom, the information now is that we are looking at around the six-week mark,” Postecoglou said on Thursday. “No surgery. Maybe we can get him back a little bit earlier, just see how he progresses. But at this stage it’s saying around six weeks.”

The ex-Liverpool striker has scored 11 times since his summer switch from Bournemouth, including one in last month’s 6-3 loss against Liverpool. Solanke also had a goal ruled out in the Carabao Cup semi-final.

The issue is compounded with the news last week that attackers Brennan Johnson and Timo Werner have suffered injuries that will rule them out of the upcoming game against Liverpool. Guglielmo Vicario, Destiny Udogie and Wilson Odobert also won’t be back in time, but there’s hope that Cristian Romero, Micky van de Ven, Djed Spence, Sergio Reguilon, Pape Matar Sarr and Yves Bissouma will be available by the time the semi-final comes around.

Speaking on Thursday night, Postecoglou said Spurs' horrendous injury record is to blame for its disappointing season to date. “I mean you can walk outside and say, 'Jeez it's really bright', and say to yourself maybe it's not the sun. But it is the sun, mate, we've just got injuries.

(Image: Getty Images)

“Every decision that is made is from me,” he added. “I am responsible for this. If you want a head on a stick, take mine, but I am absolutely 100 percent confident that we are in a better place as a football club today than when I started.”

Tottenham currently sits 15th in the Premier League and has taken a point from its last six Premier league games. With a home match against Leicester City on Sunday, Spurs will hope to end its terrible recent run.

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