Tottenham Hotspur manager Ange Postecoglou has delivered a worrying update on the fitness of centre-back Micky van de Ven ahead of Sunday’s FA Cup clash with Aston Villa.
Spurs’ Dutch dynamo has struggled throughout the campaign with injuries and has only made 12 appearances for the club this season. One of those came against Elfsborg in the Europa League in late January after two months on the sidelines with a hamstring issue.
Van de Ven only featured for the first half of the 3-0 European triumph and has subsequently missed matches with Brentford and Liverpool – sparking fears among Tottenham supporters over another lengthy absence.
Postecoglou also confirmed that the 23-year-old won’t be available for the FA Cup fourth round tie at Villa Park, admitting: “Micky probably is going to be a bit of a slow burner.”
The Spurs boss proceeded to imply that other members of his squad are closer to returning from their respective injuries in the coming weeks.
“The ones who are definitely close are guys like [Guglielmo] Vicario, Destiny [Udogie], Wilson [Odobert], Madders [James Maddison], Brennan [Johnson] at a stretch,” said the Australian.
“They should all be back by midweek next week in terms of training, or the week after. Over the next two weeks, they should all be available.”
Tottenham have been desperately unfortunate with fitness problems this season and their defence has been particularly impacted. Van de Ven’s absence has been sorely felt, while the likes of Cristian Romero, Radu Dragusin and Destiny Udogie are all rubbing shoulders with him in the treatment room at present.
Spurs did sign a new centre-back during the January transfer window, recruiting Lens defender Kevin Danso on an initial loan deal. The Austrian made his debut during the 4-0 defeat to Liverpool midweek, which saw Tottenham miss out on the Carabao Cup final.
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