Frank delivers update on Tottenham star after hospitalisation at AFCON – and discusses future of midfielder | OneFootball

Thomas Frank gave an update on the availability of Pape Matar Sarr, after the Senegalese midfielder was taken to hospital during the AFCON final.

The 23-year-old was on the bench for Senegal as they faced Morocco in the final of the Africa Cup of Nations. However, the Tottenham midfielder fell ill during the game, and was taken to hospital along with teammates Krepin Diatta and Ousseynou Niang.

Now, ahead of Tottenham’s trip to Burnley, Frank was asked about the wellbeing and availability of his midfielder:

“Yeah, he’s back here, and was on the pitch today to do a little bit,” confirmed the manager. “And he’s ready to train tomorrow and ready for selection on Saturday.”

It is still unclear why the trio suddenly fell ill, missing the controversial end of the match which saw Brahim Diaz miss a penalty for the hosts, before Pape Gueye scored Senegal in extra time to win the title. 

Sarr’s availability for the trip to Turf Moor will no doubt be a relief to Frank, as Spurs have been hit hard by injuries and hosted Dortmund midweek in the Champions League with 13 players sidelined and only 11 established outfield players available. 

Frank hinted at the struggles he is facing with a limited squad when asked about the status of Yves Bissouma, who made his first appearance of this season against West Ham. While there had been speculation that the midfielder was being punished for disciplinary issues, Frank confirmed he had also suffered with long-term injuries. 

“He’s been pretty unlucky with injuries more or less throughout the season. But he’s back now and trained very well today,” said the manager. 

“He made a mistake, [being dropped from the squad in August] was a consequence of that,” he said. “But after that, he got injured literally two days after training. That’s why he was out of the squad.”

Asked if Bissouma was for sale in the January window, Frank admitted: “I would say it’s fair to say that we don’t have that many players, and he is a good player.

“And he did very well against West Ham. So he’s a Tottenham player, and the only thing we are focusing on is that he’s available for Burnley on Saturday.”

Even with the January signing of Brazilian teenager Souza, Frank will need more players fit if he expects his side to start producing better results until the end of the season.