FILE PHOTO: Soccer Football - UEFA Champions League - Tottenham Hotspur v Villarreal - Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, London, Britain - September 16, 2025 Tottenham Hotspur's Kolo Muani warming up on the sideline during the match REUTERS/David Klein/File Photo
(Reuters) -Tottenham Hotspur's France striker Randal Kolo Muani is in contention to make his Premier League debut against Aston Villa on Sunday, but an ankle injury has sidelined midfielder Yves Bissouma for weeks, manager Thomas Frank said.
Kolo Muani, who joined Spurs on loan from Paris St Germain last month, has missed the last five games with a "dead leg", while Bissouma suffered an ankle ligament problem playing for Mali in this month's World Cup qualifiers.
"Kolo Muani has trained now for two weeks with the team, so that's good. He looks better and better. He will be in contention for the squad ... so that's positive," Frank told reporters on Friday.
“Biss unfortunately had a situation with the national team, I think everyone saw that, unfortunately, so he got a ligament injury to his ankle. That’ll keep him out for weeks.”
Striker Dominic Solanke is also still sidelined with an ankle issue, having had minor surgery last month.
“Dom has progressed well after the surgery. (He has) been on the pitch ... he's progressing and he's going forward, so that's good," Frank said.
Spurs are without seven injured players, including Dejan Kulusevski, James Maddison, Radu Dragusin and Kota Takai.
The Europa League winners are unbeaten in their last seven matches in all competitions and sit third in the Premier League table on 14 points, two points below leaders Arsenal.
Villa are 13th on nine points from seven games.
However, former Brentford manager Frank has failed to beat Unai Emery's Villa in his five league matches against them, suffering three losses.
"What Unai has done in his career is amazing, what he's created at Villa is fantastic. They almost qualified for the Champions League again," Frank said. "I'm looking forward to it."
(Reporting by Chiranjit Ojha in Bengaluru; Editing by Ken Ferris)
