Tottenham are headed for a massive Premier League clash this weekend against Aston Villa, as they have come second to the Lions in the last Conference League and Champions League races.
Sunday’s battle will be a great test for Tottenham, who are coming off a morale-boosting win over Manchester City at mid-week in the League Cup, bouncing back from a shutout defeat to strugglers Crystal Palace.
However, Tottenham will be without star center back Micky van de Ven, one of the best in the league in his position, after he suffered an injury in the quarterfinal win over Man City.
At the time, Van de Ven’s injury appeared to be serious, as the young defender had to leave the pitch in tears. Although he will not be back in time for the Aston Villa match, Tottenham will be happy that Van de Ven only suffered a hamstring strain, per manager Ange Postecoglou.
The Tottenham coach added that because Van de Ven’s injury isn’t as serious as it looked during the City game, Spurs are now expecting the Dutch center back to return after the November international fixtures.
That means Van de Ven will be out for two additional games against Galatasaray and Ipswich Town. Galatasaray can be tricky, especially on the road, but a team with Champions League aspirations like Tottenham should be able to take care of both, even without their star defender.
Losing Van de Ven for any amount of time is tough for Tottenham, but after signing Radu Dragusin last winter, they have depth at center back. Best of all, he won’t be out for long, so it’s a relief that it is only a strain and he will be ready for two big games right off the bat after the break against Man City and Roma.
