Tottenham: Injury presents opportunity for Mathys Tel to kickstart Spurs career | OneFootball

Tel set for chance to impressive Thomas Frank against Doncaster in the absence of Randal Kolo Muani

Your matchday briefing on Tottenham, featuring team news and expert analysis from Matt Verri

I would like to be emailed about offers, event and updates from Evening Standard. Read our privacy notice.

Seven first-team players will miss tonight's third-round tie against Doncaster, with Randal Kolo Muani and Ben Davies the latest to enter the treatment room.

Kolo Muani's absence is due to him failing to recover from the dead leg that kept him out against Brighton on Saturday and it leaves Frank fairly short in attack. That, though, is positive news for Tel.

With Dominic Solanke still unavailable due to an ankle issue, Frank is expected to rest Richarlison and so the selection wheel will almost certainly land on Tel's name.

Mathys Tel has endured a difficult start to life at Spurs

Getty Images

A Wednesday night fixture at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium might ordinarily stir up thoughts of a big Champions League match, the kind of occasion that would have been firmly in Tel's mind when he signed for the club permanently in the summer.

Instead, it is the visit of League One opposition that presents Tel with as good an opportunity as he will get to impress for the foreseeable future.

The Frenchman was omitted from Frank's squad for the league phase of the Champions League in a significant blow. He has played 98 minutes in the Premier League so far this season - 79 of those came in an ineffective display against West Ham.

Tel has looked short of confidence in a Spurs shirt and the arrival of Kolo Muani appeared to bump him further down the pecking order in attack. His compatriot's injury has handed him a lifeline, though, and a home tie against Doncaster should be the perfect platform from which to shine.

Glimpses of Tel's potential have come on international duty, when he scored twice for France Under-21s last month. That was still in Frank's mind on Tuesday when he was asked where he wants to use Tel.

“I would say he plays all his games for the French U21s down the middle,” Frank said.

“He played for us down the middle. I'm definitely aware that he can play to the side as well, also to the left and maybe that is his best position. Maybe, I would like to say, so that's definitely something I have in mind to use as well.

Spurs paid £30m to sign Tel on a permanent deal from Bayern Munich in the summer

Getty Images

“It's always that you need to juggle everything. There's a few players also quite good down the left. And that's not that they maybe are better than Mathys, it can just be how do you construct a team.”

As it stands, the decision to sign Tel on a £30million deal is one that raises questions. It is hard to argue that having both Tel and Wilson Odobert, who has similarly struggled for form when given opportunities, feels like good squad building.

Tel is still waiting for a moment to kick his Spurs career into gear. He has scored three goals for the club since arriving in February, one of which was a penalty against Southampton. The other two came in defeats to Aston Villa and Wolves.

A return to the scoresheet against Doncaster would not fully cure Tel's struggles, but it would be a start. Right now, he badly needs that.