Tottenham have given striker Emmanuel Adebayor permission to return home to Togo for personal reasons, meaning he will miss Thursday’s Europa League clash with Besiktas.
The club revealed on their official twitter account that the 30-year-old will return to his native West Africa, but would not disclose the reasons behind the front man’s departure.
The statement read: “We can confirm that Emmanuel Adebayor has been given permission to return home for personal reasons. This is a private matter and so we will not be providing any further comment.”
The former Manchester City man has struggled this season to find some consistent form and has only scored twice in 12 appearances.
The Togo international has also not figured for the Lilywhites since before November’s international break due to a combination of hamstring and back injuries, as well as a virus. This has prompted speculation that he could leave the club in January, something his manager Mauricio Pochettino has denied.
He said: “All players that we have in the squad are part of the plans for the future.”
It is not the first time the former Arsenal forward has been granted personal leave from a club. Whilst at Manchester City he was allowed some time away on compassionate grounds in 2010 following a deadly attack on the Togo team bus that Adebayor was aboard during that year’s Africa Nations Cup.
Despite the absence of the experienced front man, the two-time UEFA Cup winners will be confident of securing the point they need to finish top in Group C when they take on their Turkish opponents in the Atatürk Olympic Stadium.
The visitors are 3.28 to win the match, with the host’s slight favourites at 2.05. The draw that will seal the English side top spot is at 3.25.
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