Ange Postecoglou offers hopeful update on Dominic Solanke’s fitness ahead of north London derby

Dominic Solanke could return to fitness in time to face Arsenal in the north London derby on Sunday, according to Tottenham Hotspur boss Ange Postecoglou.

Solanke, who became Spurs’ biggest signing of the summer after swapping the south coast for north London, could make only his second appearance of the season when his side host Arsenal this weekend.

The striker has been out of action since Spurs‘ opening game of the season against Leicester City after picking up a serious ankle injury. He’s yet to register his first goal as a Lilywhite but will hope to impress after a stunning campaign at Bournemouth last season – scoring 21 goals in 42 appearances.

Spurs boss Postecoglou believes Solanke could feature in Sunday’s squad and has offered an update on the fitness of the forward.

“Dom is back with the first team, training today so again, we’ve got training tomorrow, if he gets through alright, I guess he’ll be available,” he told reporters. “Richarlison and Will Lankshear are the only two in rehab.

“Micky [Van de Ven] is all good, he’s trained fully over the international break. Yves Bissouma is the only one that’s got an issue. It’s not serious but he’s getting treatment today. We’ll see if he can train tomorrow and make a decision there.”

Postecoglou also revealed the stakes behind the first north London derby of the season, revealing what a win would mean for his side.

“It’s hard to say. I’ve never felt like there is an easy way to success, I don’t think one thing can change the trajectory to a great effect,” he continued. “It helps, a win in a big game, in a derby but it’s a game against one of the top sides so that gives you more belief and confidence and potentially that can inject some real momentum into our season.

“We want to be a club that can challenge everyone. That’s what we are trying to aim to become. To do that, you’ve got to perform at a certain level, at a consistent basis, the squad’s strong enough to do that.

“We’ve started the season fairly solidly, from a performance perspective. The results haven’t reflected that but I think we’re in a good place to push on from last year and improve on all areas. There’s no reason why we can’t [challenge] this year.”