AZ Alkmaar v Tottenham: Huge injury boost emerges ahead of Europa League clash
Ange Postecoglou can finally see some light at the end of the tunnel at Tottenham ahead of a trip to face AZ Alkmaar on Thursday.
The Lilywhites are preparing to return to Europa League action on 6 March with a clash against Maarten Martens’ side.
Despite the AZ Alkmaar sitting sixth in the Eredivisie, it will be far from an easy match for Spurs who have struggled with plenty of injury concerns this season.
Despite facing further fitness blows ahead of the trip to AFAS Stadion, there may be reason to get excited in N17 after the latest updates.
Postecoglou to welcome Tottenham trio back v AZ Alkmaar
Things haven’t been easy for the Australian head coach to deal with this campaign, regularly being without multiple key squad members at once.
This has seen his side slip down the Premier League table, leaving the North Londoners looking over their shoulder at the bottom three rather than the top four.
Although European qualification through the league looks unlikely, there is an excellent chance for Postecoglou to challenge for a Europa League title.
This could prove to be made easier with the re-introduction of three key players under the former Celtic boss.
Paul O Keefe reported to X on 4 March that Micky van de Ven, Dominic Solanke and Cristian Romero are in line to return to the squad for the trip to Alkmaar.
Despite the likelihood of Dejan Kulusevski being absent for Tottenham, it will come as positive news for Postecoglou to welcome this trio back.
Tottenham delight to have Solanke back
Although the defensive blows of losing van de Ven and Romero were frustrating, the recent addition of Kevin Danso has helped soften that loss.
Add to this the rise of Archie Gray in an unfamiliar centre-back role and Postecoglou has found some useful solutions at the back.
It has been the striker position that has been hard to find an adequate replacement for while Solanke has been out.
| Name | Games played | Goals | Goals per 90 |
| Brennan Johnson | 24 | 9 | 0.48 |
| James Maddison | 25 | 9 | 0.55 |
| Dejan Kulusevski | 27 | 7 | 0.29 |
| Dominic Solanke | 18 | 7 | 0.39 |
The former Chelsea youngster adds a physical presence to the Spurs side which has little to no substitute within the squad and will be welcomed back with open arms.
As useful as Mathys Tel may prove to be in North London, welcoming a striker like the England international back into the side can only be seen as a positive move ahead of a trip to Europe.