Tottenham face new crisis as Dominic Solanke among up to 15 stars out for Dortmund clash | OneFootball

Injuries, suspensions and squad rules mean Spurs left with depleted options for crunch league phase match

Thomas Frank could be without up to 15 first-team players for Tottenham’s Champions League clash with Borussia Dortmund.

Gallagher, who joined Spurs for £34.7million from Atletico Madrid last week, and Solanke are both ineligible to feature, given that neither player is in Tottenham’s Champions League squad.

Solanke was initially named in Spurs’ 25-man group for the league phase of the competition in September, but was withdrawn and replaced by Mathys Tel - the most high-profile omission from the original squad - last month before the win over Slavia Prague as he continued to recover from an ankle injury, which he has now shaken off.

Van de Ven, meanwhile, is suspended for the meeting with Dortmund after accumulating three yellow cards in six games during the league phase, incurring an automatic one-match ban.

Frank is also set to be without Ben Davies, who was stretchered off against West Ham, and Archie Gray, who was withdrawn at half-time on Saturday as Spurs fell to a damaging stoppage-time defeat to Nuno Espirito Santo’s struggling side.

Davies looks set for an extended period on the sidelines after receiving lengthy treatment for a knee injury, while Gray is a doubt for Tuesday after being on the receiving end of a couple of robust West Ham challenges.

Spurs’ injury issues show no signs of relenting, and it is unlikely that Frank will be able to call upon Pape Matar Sarr after Senegal’s Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) triumph.

The midfielder was already a doubt for the Dortmund game, having been named on the bench for Sunday’s chaotic final in Morocco. But it has since been reported that he is also dealing with an illness.

The fit-again Yves Bissouma, back from AFCON, is also ineligible for Champions League duty, along with Radu Dragusin, who only recently returned from a serious knee injury.

Dejan Kulusevski, James Maddison, Mohammed Kudus, Rodrigo Bentancur and Richarlison all remain long-term absentees, while Joao Palhinha missed out against West Ham with a knock and Xavi Simons was spotted limping after the game.

Spurs have struggled to comply with UEFA’s squad registration rules due to a lack of club-trained players and having more than the required four association-trained players, as well as the allotted 17 non-homegrown players.

As they did during last season’s Europa League final run, Spurs can name a new squad list for the knockout rounds of the Champions League, with a maximum of three changes for the remaining matches in the competition.

Should Spurs, who currently sit a point outside the automatic qualification places in 11th, behind Dortmund on goals scored, make it through to the knockout phase, they will have until February 5 to submit a new squad list.