Tottenham suffer massive setback as key attacker ruled out of Everton clash; Porro injury update

Tottenham have suffered a double blow ahead of their weekend Premier League clash with Everton after two key men were ruled out of the game in north London.

Ange Postecoglou’s men began the new season with a disappointing 1-1 draw at Leicester in a game they largely dominated but failed to take their chances.

Chief among those culprits was new £65m signing Dominic Solanke, who squandered a hat-trick of good opportunities to ensure he got off to a goalscoring start to his Tottenham career.

However, the club’s new record signing will not get the chance to make amends against the Toffees after Postecoglou ruled him out of the game.

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Solanke picked up an ankle knock at Leicester and has failed to recover in time for the visit of Sean Dyche’s side.

However, Postecoglou moved to reassure fans that the injury is not a serious one, although he remains a doubt for next weekend’s trip to Newcastle.

“Dom picked up a knock in the last game. He got through the game but it flared up the day after and he’ll miss the game tomorrow,” Postecoglou said.

“It’s an ankle injury, he copped it really early on, someone went across his ankle.

“It just depends on his recovery [when he returns], obviously we’ve got the international break, but it’s not serious.”

Postecoglou did, however, confirm that Richarlison is fit to start against his old club on Saturday after his brief cameo at the King Power Stadium.

The Brazil international had been linked with a move away from the club ahead of next week’s transfer deadline, but Solanke’s injury could see him stay put, for now anyway.

Bentancur missing but Porro passed fit

Another player who will not feature against Everton though is midfielder Rodrigo Bentancur, who will miss out due to concussion protocol.

Postecoglou could opt to bring Yves Bissouma straight back into the starting XI after his suspension on Monday night or use summer signing Archie Gray in a central midfield role instead.

“Biss is available but we’ve got some options there,” Postecoglou added. “The whole idea of trying to bulk up the squad is for these situations.

“He’s available for selection. The bridge building continues.”

Gray, meanwhile, could feature in midfield as he will not be needed to replace Pedro Porro at right-back after the Spaniard was passed fit for Saturday’s game.

Porro suffered a foot injury against Leicester which eventually forced him off but he is fine to take on the Toffees.

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The only other change to the Tottenham team could be on the right wing after Brennan Johnson was surprisingly preferred to Dejan Kulusevski on Monday night. The Swede is expected to return to the side after performing well in pre-season.

Spurs will also be hoping to replicate the run they had at the start of last season when, after drawing their opener at Brentford, they went on a nine-match unbeaten run to be top the league before the wheels eventually fell off against Chelsea.