Thomas Frank was sacked by Tottenham after making Dominic Solanke prediction

Thomas Frank has been shown the door at Tottenham, not long after issuing a forecast regarding Dominic Solanke's return to the line-up

Not even Dominic Solanke's return from almost six months on the sidelines was enough to save Thomas Frank's job at Tottenham. That's despite the Dane's prediction that the England international could be Spurs' saviour.

Solanke, 28, was injured for the first half of the season and missed 27 games after undergoing surgery on his ankle. It was a cruel blow for Frank so early in his Tottenham tenure, just one of numerous injuries and suspensions that set the manager back this term.

Even crueller was the fact that Solanke has shown shades of his best self since returning in January, netting four goals in seven Premier League and Champions League outings. The Daily Mail reported Frank felt he could turn the striker into a "goal machine," just as he did with the likes of Ivan Toney, Bryan Mbeumo and Yoane Wissa at Brentford.

Frank was delighted with the player's contribution following his recent brace of goals in a 2-2 draw against Manchester City. Perhaps even more impressive than the scorpion flick used to score his second was the fact that Frank said the striker was still working towards full fitness.

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"He clearly also struggled to run," said the Dane after that result. "So he knew, he struggled to run fitness-wise. We knew before the game that again it would be a big push to play 90. He’s not there fitness-wise where he should be, because he’s been out for so long. And we’ve been, in a way, a little bit forced to play him. And I think it’s pretty evident that he’s relatively important for us."

Frank even likened Solanke's injury absence to City playing without Erling Haaland. And there aren't many higher compliments a striker could receive in today's game.

He continued: "Four goals in four [starts since his return in January], with him being on his 70-80 per cent of fitness and top sharpness. But imagine City playing without Haaland for six months. So I think we’ve been quite hard-hit with injuries. Yeah, in general, but Dom was excellent."

The manager also highlighted Solanke's mean streak in front of goal after scoring against Borussia Dortmund in a 2-0 Champions League win last month. However, it wasn't purely the player's impact in the area that made an impression on the coach.

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"You could see today his link-up play, his hold-up play," said Frank at the time. "I think he could have scored maybe one or two goals more, because I think he just missed the timing to arrive, just a little bit.

"He has a good connection with Pedro [Porro], for example, but when he hasn't played for a while...but also his work ethic. He works so hard. I know he was not match fit, but I would say he went so much all-in that after 65 [minutes], he'd done everything."

Following his double against City, Solanke struggled to cause as much chaos in back-to-back defeats against Manchester United and Newcastle. The latter result, a 2-1 home defeat on Tuesday, proved to be the final straw, as Spurs swiftly announced Frank's departure.

Solanke will nonetheless aim to prove his former mentor right in leading Tottenham to salvation. The club currently sits just five points above the relegation zone, with a great deal of pressure on the next manager to turn their fortunes around and safeguard their top-flight status.