Thomas Frank is ready to face a strong Tottenham Hotspur side on Boxing Day and doesn't believe their World Cup players will be affected by their participation at the tournament in Qatar.

Out of all the clubs in the Premier League, Spurs' players played the second-most minutes at the World Cup, with both defender Cristian Romero and goalkeeper Hugo Lloris reaching the final.

England's Harry Kane reached the quarter-final, while versatile Croatian Ivan Perisic was knocked out by Argentina in the semi-final.

But, despite their involvement for their countries over the last couple of months, Frank believes that boss Antonio Conte will still have his star players available for selection for their visit to the Gtech Community Stadium.

“I am pretty sure that all the World Cup players will start. [Hugo] Lloris, [Harry] Kane, [Ivan] Perisic, [Heung-min] Son - I think they will start on Boxing Day," the Brentford head coach said.

"In general, we spoke about it before we went away, could this World Cup affect the Premier League?

"If some teams got players injured at the World Cup, that could affect them, but the rest will likely come back fit, they're in a good place.

"Maybe we will see something in March or April, where everything has accumulated, mentally and physically. But I don't think [the World Cup] will affect anything too much right now."

Speaking about the World Cup break from a personal point of view, Frank was happy to have some time to relax with his family while the Premier League was paused.

As for how it has affected his Bees squad, the head coach admitted that he would have liked to have spent some more time with the players after the 2-1 win over Manchester City, but the time away has allowed injured players to get up to speed ahead of the restart.

Frank said: "[The break] has been a privilege. I haven't had that for six years, to have two weeks off. I’ve spent some time with some friends and family, so that was very nice.

"When you're working in this relentless business, it's nice to have the odd day off, so it was much appreciated.” 

When asked whether it was a positive for the team, he added: “Yes and no. We'd just beaten [Manchester] City so it might have been nice to come in and see all the boys bouncing off that energy and the confidence that something like that gives. 

“The good news is that it was such a big thing to win and that will give us confidence going forward. I think the team had a few injuries as well so that was a benefit of the six weeks, so they're closer to the team. So, from that perspective, definitely."