Tottenham midfield ace left behind in London; injury concern ahead of Arsenal clash

Tottenham Hotspur midfielder Pape Matar Sarr was ruled out of Senegal’s friendly against Kenya on Monday with a knock
Tottenham Hotspur were already dealing with a host of injuries and fitness issues heading into the international break and now have fresh concerns before resuming their campaign.
Mohammed Kudus did not team up with Ghana during the November international break due to a knock sustained earlier this month. Thomas Frank said after the Manchester United game that he is hopeful of having Kudus back for the trip to Arsenal, but Spurs were dealt a blow when Lucas Bergvall withdrew from the Sweden camp after not healing fully from the concussion he had suffered in the 1-0 defeat to Chelsea.
Pape Matar Sarr handed Tottenham another injury worry when he picked up a knock while representing Senegal during the international break. He limped off in the second half of the friendly against Brazil at the Emirates Stadium last weekend.
Pape Matar Sarr returns to London early
Now, according to a report from The Standard, Pape Matar Sar has returned to London after being ruled out of Senegal’s friendly against Kenya.
Senegal boss Pape Thiaw initially said the injury wasn’t serious and insisted it “wasn’t a big deal”, but they decided to leave the Tottenham midfielder back in London and not risk him against Kenya in Turkey on Monday.
“We left him in London,” Thiaw confirmed (h/t The Standard).
“He took a knock. So, we felt it would be difficult for him to recover in just two days.
“Since we were in his home city, we preferred to leave him at the disposal of his club so he could receive treatment there.”
The injury scare is one the Tottenham gaffer could’ve done without ahead of a busy run of fixtures. Thomas Frank is already without several key players is due to injury and the Dane will be keen on getting Sarr back fit as soon as possible. There is currently no accurate word on how serious the Senegalese international’s injury is as he is set to undergo several tests this week.
Sarr has joined Bergvall in returning to north London early as the midfield duo face race against time to be fit for the trip to Arsenal on Sunday. If neither of them are available, Frank would face problems in setting up his midfield against the Gunners, with Archie Gray also ruled out for weeks with a calf issue. This would likely mean Rodrigo Bentancur partnering Joao Palhinha in the engine room.