Micky van de Ven could make his return after two months on the sidelines when Tottenham host Burnley in the FA Cup third round on Friday, boss Ange Postecoglou has revealed.
Van de Ven made an impressive start to his Spurs career after arriving from Wolfsburg in a €50million (£43m) deal in August, helping Postecoglou’s men go unbeaten through their first 10 games of the Premier League season.
However, the Dutchman suffered a hamstring injury during a 4-1 defeat to Chelsea in November, joining influential midfielder James Maddison on the sidelines as Spurs’ form deteriorated.
Tottenham only collected one point from their first four games without Van de Ven, though they have since bounced back with a run of four wins in five matches to sit one point adrift of the top four.
Burnley are the visitors as Spurs begin their latest bid to end a 15-year trophy drought on Friday and Van de Ven could feature, though Postecoglou will not rush him back.
“Micky has trained this week,” Postecoglou told Spurs’ media channels before Thursday’s pre-match press conference.
“We’re not sure about tomorrow’s game but he might be involved in the squad. It’s good to get him back. Obviously, he’s missed a fair bit so we’ll have to be careful with him.”
Ange provides an update on Micky van de Ven’s fitness ????️ pic.twitter.com/GnlEqnAiHR
— Tottenham Hotspur (@SpursOfficial) January 4, 2024
Van de Ven’s return will come as a huge boost to Tottenham, who expect to be without Cristian Romero for four or five weeks after he suffered a hamstring injury against Everton shortly before Christmas.
In response to their selection crisis, Tottenham have been linked with a move for a defender in the January transfer window, with reports suggesting Genoa’s Radu Dragusin is a target.
Postecoglou was coy when asked about those links on Thursday, saying: “It’s hard to say because I don’t get involved in that. We have some objectives and aims and we’re working towards them.
“In January, you don’t expect too much in terms of activity. I’ve said before; what is important is whenever we have the opportunity to improve the squad, we have to take it.”
The former Celtic boss was also asked for an update on the fitness of Maddison, who is expected to return in the coming weeks after seeing a brilliant start to life in north London halted by injury.
“[Maddison] is not training with us yet,” Postecoglou said. “I won’t know until he’s back training with us, seeing how he’s getting on.”