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In front of Friday’s FA Cup third-round matchup with Burnley, Tottenham Hotspur boss Ange Postecoglou has stated that defender Micky van de Ven is back fully trained.
The 22-year-old’s severe hamstring injury from Spurs’ 4-1 loss to Chelsea on November 6 has forced him to miss the Lilywhites’ past nine Premier League games.
The Dutchman’s absence from the game coincided with Tottenham’s winter woes; in nine Premier League games, Postecoglou’s team has suffered four losses and kept just one clean sheet.
Van de Ven has been in the treatment room a lot, but Postecoglou stated last month that the player is expected to return at some point in January. Ben Davies has frequently filled in as Spurs’ left-sided centre back during this time.
Van van Ven is currently working with the team, Postecoglou said to the media before Friday’s cup matchup against Burnley, though he was unsure if he will play against the Clarets.
“Micky van de Ven has participated in three training sessions with us. Not sure if he’ll be participating tomorrow, according to Postecoglou, as quoted by football.london.
Tottenham will benefit greatly from Van van Ven’s return, given they are currently operating without Cristian Romero, their other first-choice centre defender, who will be sidelined for four to five weeks due to a hamstring injury he suffered against Everton on December 23.
Tottenham is focused on adding a new defender this month, even with Van van Ven almost ready to return.
They are now negotiating the transfer of Radu Dragusin from Genoa, although Postecoglou remained in the dark about the status of those talks.
Because I don’t get involved in it, it’s difficult to say. When asked about bringing in reinforcements early in the window, Postecoglou replied, “We have some objectives and aims and we’re working towards them.”
On the opposite side of the pitch, Alejo Veliz entered the game as a late substitute in Tottenham’s 3-1 victory over Bournemouth over the weekend.
However, he was unable to finish the game because of a knee injury, thus Tottenham had to play the remaining minutes with 10 men.
Before speaking to the public, Postecoglou provided a separate update to Tottenham’s media channels regarding Veliz’s fitness and the bad news that the striker would be sidelined for a few months.
“Alejo hurt his knee the other day, had a scan on it and it’ll keep him out for a little while,” said Postecoglou. Although surgery is not necessary, he will still be sidelined for several months, which will be upsetting for him.
“He’d worked really hard and had to wait for his opportunity, we could see he was developing over the past couple of weeks so unfortunate for him.”
The injured players in the infirmary are Ivan Perisic (knee), Ryan Sessegnon (thigh), Manor Solomon (knee), and James Maddison (ankle). Son Heung-min, Yves Bissouma, and Pape Sarr are all deployed abroad.
Nevertheless, Dejan Kulusevski will serve his one-match suspension upon his return for Tottenham’s visit to Burnley, where they will look to win 17 of their previous 18 FA Cup third-round games.
