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tottenham manager Thomas Frank Vital boost ahead of Sunday’s crucial North London derby clash armorywith forward Raddle Raddle Radality Unexpectedly available for selection.
The Paris Saint-Germain loanee, who suffered a jaw injury during Spurs’ 2-2 draw with Manchester United on November 8, subsequently missed international duty with France.
Despite initial concerns, Kolo Muani has now been cleared to play after being fitted with a protective mask, allowing him to train this week.
Frank confirmed the positive news, saying: “Pep (Sar) trained today, ready and available. Lucas (Bergvall) trained today and is available. Kolo Muani, yes trained today, available – of course he has a mask with which he has to play.”
There have been further returnees to the squad, with defenders Ben Davies and Kota Takai also back in training.
Centre-back Radu Dragusin, who is recovering from an anterior cruciate ligament damage suffered in January, took part in a closed-door friendly earlier this month.
Archie Gray and Mohammed JerusalemThose who missed Ghana internationals have also rejoined training, providing additional depth to Frank’s side.
However, key players, James Madison, Yves BissoumaAnd Dejan Kulusevski To remain on the margins.
striker dominic solankeJoe, who has not featured since August 23 and had minor ankle surgery last month, is also unavailable.
Speaking about Solanke’s recovery, Frank said, “Dom is not ready yet. We are very aware that when we put him in there, we want to be as confident as we can that there will be no further setbacks. I am comfortable that he will be ready soon.”
Frank, whose competitive record against Arsenal stands at just one win in nine meetings, scored in a pre-season friendly win over Mikel Arteta’s side in Hong Kong in July.
Emphasizing the importance of the upcoming derby, he commented: “Yeah, it’s surreal. Very excited. Of course I knew about the North London derby before I stepped into the club, but when you’re in it, you feel it and realize it’s important.”
He continued, highlighting the widespread excitement: “You feel it from the fans, you feel it from the staff members, the players, the people who have been working here for years. It’s a huge thing.”
Frank acknowledged the unique importance of the match: “I always say the next game is the most important game, I always have, but I’m very, very, very aware that there are two games a year that are even more important and this is the first of them. We’re ready, we’re ready for it, we’re looking forward to it and we’ll do everything we can to win.”
Sunday’s clash at the Emirates will also shed light on the clubs’ respective set-piece coaches.
Arsenal’s Nicolas Jover and Spurs’ Andreas Georgsson both previously worked under Frank at Brentford.
Frank commented with a smile: “Well, it’s very simple. I educated them both at Brentford. I think maybe some of it is what we did at Brentford where we really focused on it and spent a lot of time trying to excel at a high level.”