Postecoglou shares fresh Romero and van de Ven return timescale at Tottenham
Ange Postecoglou will be desperate to get his injured Tottenham stars fit and firing again.
Postecoglou is in serious trouble in North London as a result of Spurs’ poor recent form, with Mauricio Pochettino emerging as the favourite to replace the Australian.
However, a lot of Spurs’ defeats can be explained by the lack of players Postecoglou has had available to him in recent weeks, with more or less every first-team star spending time on the treatment table at one point or another this season.
Therefore, the 59-year-old will be delighted to be getting some of those injured players back, with Destiny Udogie and James Maddison expected to return to the starting lineup for Spurs’ Premier League clash with Manchester United at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Sunday (16 February).
Guglielmo Vicario could also return between the sticks. However, Tottenham remain without the likes of Cristian Romero, Micky van de Ven and Dominic Solanke, with Postecoglou offering an update on when those three players might return.
Ange Postecoglou provides Tottenham injury update
Speaking ahead of the clash with United, Postecoglou said [via Football London, 14 February], “Micky [van de Ven], Cuti [Romero] and Dom [Solanke], again, we’re looking at the next two or three weeks for them. They’re going well.
“I guess with Micky, we decided to take a different strategy with him. We just want to make sure he’s absolutely right. We’re talking to different people, he’s working with different medical teams and rehab staff to make sure he’s right. He’s working well and feeling good, which is a positive.
“Similar with Cuti. We’re just waiting. The healing in his quad is taking longer than we thought. He’s got one more scan to make sure it’s healed properly. Once we get that sign-off, we should be good to go.”
Tottenham without Cristian Romero and Micky van de Ven v Manchester United
Postecoglou won’t be able to call on Romero or van de Ven once again against United.
However, the Spurs boss should still be confident of victory. Tottenham have already beaten United twice this season, home and away, and the returns of Maddison, Udogie and Vicario should lift the team.
Therefore, even without Romero and van de Ven, this could be the perfect opportunity for Spurs to get back to winning ways.
However, if Spurs fail to win on Sunday, things could get very ugly in North London. Postecoglou is fighting for his future, and after being dumped out of both the FA Cup and Carabao Cup, the UEFA Europa League is really all that Tottenham have left to play for.
Therefore, it is likely that the Australian’s position at the club will be measured on Spurs’ success in that competition this season. However, Tottenham need to start picking up points in the Premier League too.