Postecoglou shares Micky van de Ven injury update ahead of Tottenham v Liverpool
Ange Postecoglou has confirmed Micky van de Ven will miss out for Tottenham against Liverpool on Thursday.
Tottenham were handed a huge boost ahead of the second leg of their Carabao Cup semi-final clash at Anfield on 6 February, with one key player set to miss out for the hosts.
However, they have also been handed a major setback in the form of van de Ven.
Speaking ahead of the clash, Postecoglou said [via Football London, 5 February], “For availability from last week, everyone is fine. Kevin [Danso] and Mathys [Tel] are both available and have trained.
“For the rest of them, no one is available for tomorrow. With Micky and [Cristian] Romero to a certain extent, it’s about being conservative with them. Micky got through the 45 minutes but he feels he’s not ready yet for the step up to the Premier League.”
Micky van de Ven to miss out for Tottenham v Liverpool
Thursday’s clash with Liverpool is arguably the biggest game of Postecoglou’s career, as an “alarming” admission emerges ahead of the cup tie.
The 59-year-old has won titles all around the world. However, winning a trophy with Tottenham would no doubt be the greatest achievement of his managerial career.
Therefore, the Australian’s nerves will likely be at an all-time high as he and his players make the trip to Merseyside for a season-defining clash.
Tottenham hold a slender lead heading into the match-up. However, Liverpool have proven rather emphatically in the past that arriving for a second-leg clash at Anfield with a lead doesn’t mean much, and Spurs will need to be at 100 per cent to get a result. Therefore, the absence of van de Ven is a big blow.
The Dutchman missed the 2-0 Premier League win over Brentford at the Gtech Community Stadium on Sunday (2 February) despite only just returning from injury in the match before, a 3-0 UEFA Europa League victory over IF Elfsborg at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium (30 January).
Van de Ven played the first half of the European clash, winning 100 per cent of his aerial duels and one of his two ground duels, while also completing 99 per cent of his passes [Sofascore].
In addition, the 23-year-old was accurate with 100 per cent of his long balls, only gave possession away twice, and made one clearance and one tackle in what was a positive return to action.
In other Tottenham news, Daniel Levy has been scolded live on air after a “rubbish” claim was made.
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