(Credit: Imago)

Evan Shaw

Fri 20 March 2026 15:00, UK

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Richarlison needs to be the hero for Tottenham Hotspur once again as Dominic Solanke looks increasingly likely to miss their upcoming clash with Nottingham Forest.

The England international missed the midweek victory over Atletico Madrid in the Champions League with a hip problem, and that injury kept him out of the team’s open training session on Friday morning.

Given that Igor Tudor’s side are now entering their final preparations ahead of the huge relegation ‘six-pointer’ against Forest, it is beginning to look increasingly unlikely that the striker will be fit enough to play any part.

The 28-year-old has been in promising form in recent weeks after returning from the long-term injury that kept him out for the first half of the season, but the team look set to be forced to live without him this weekend.

Tottenham need to beat Forest to take a big step towards securing their Premier League status for another season, and the responsibility to save them from a potentially damaging result will fall on Richarlison.

Richarlison to step up as Tottenham training footage shared

Richarlison scored an invaluable equaliser for Spurs in the dying embers of the game away at Liverpool last week, before celebrating in typically fiery fashion against the Merseysiders.

The Brazilian is a former Evertonian, and it is his previous exploits at Goodison Park that have prompted Tottenham fans to be so keen to see him start games in recent weeks.

The frontman netted some crucial goals for the Toffees to help them to survival during the 2021-22 campaign, despite famously playing through an injury and knowing that a move away was imminent.

Spurs fans have been crying out to see ‘relegation battle Richarlison’ come to the fore again in recent weeks, and his late leveller at Anfield last weekend certainly showed that he is up for the fight.

That will need to be the case for Tudor and Co. this weekend, with Solanke absent from Friday’s training session, and his place in Sunday’s matchday squad seemingly in major doubt.

Journalist Michael Bridge shared footage from Friday’s session to his X account, while noting that there were no fresh injury concerns for the management team to contend with.

With Solanke’s situation looking increasingly bleak, the responsibility will fall on Richarlison to stand up and be counted, and to spearhead his team in a game that they simply must win.

Igor Tudor set for final chance vs Nottingham Forest

Football Insider revealed on Friday that defeat to Forest this weekend could spell the end for Tudor at Tottenham, such is the magnitude of the task at hand.

The Lilywhites are carrying some welcome momentum into their upcoming home clash after a draw last weekend and a midweek victory, but the task remains clear that they simply must beat Forest.

The two teams are currently separated by just one point in the league table, and a defeat to Vitor Pereira’s side could plunge Spurs into the bottom three.

On the other hand, win and they could find themselves five points clear of the drop zone by the end of the day, depending on the outcome of West Ham’s trip to Aston Villa.

Tottenham have begun to show signs of life under Tudor in their last two games, but this is the ultimate test as to whether the boss and his team are truly up for their relegation scrap.