Tottenham manager Ange Postecoglou has been handed an injury boost as Micky van de Ven and another player "close in" on returns soon.
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Following the returns of Richarlison, Pape Matar Sarr and others recently, Spurs' fortunes appear to be taking a small turn as Postecoglou discovers his best side without some key squad members.
Both James Maddison and van de Ven remain absent after picking up long-term injuries against Chelsea last month, but the Lilywhites did manage to seal their first win without them against Newcastle last weekend.
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Their impressive 4-1 victory ended a barren run of four defeats in their previous five Premier League games, but Postecoglou has still publicly told Spurs to sign a centre-back regardless. The north Londoners' squad is paper thin right now, and just one or two injuries could put them back in a very precarious position.
As things stand, van de Ven, Maddison, Manor Solomon, Ivan Perisic, Rodrigo Bentancur, Eric Dier, Ryan Sessegnon and Giovani Lo Celso are unavailable to play right now due to fitness issues.
"Yeah look it’s still a challenge. We’ve still got eight out injured from our first-team squad, all of whom have contributed," said Postecoglou on Spurs injuries.
"Apart from maybe Ash Phillips who hasn’t played a lot. The rest have all contributed so it’s still a bit of a challenge for us. It’s not just the games it affects. It affects training. When we had all the guys fit at the start of the year, the level of our training was a lot higher, we could be a lot more intense with what we do. It’s a bit different now.
"But yeah like you said it was good to get back Pape and Richy last week, and that certainly helped us to freshen up the team. Hopefully between now and the new year when we’ll lose players to international commitments, it’s kind of where we’re going to be for the foreseeable future."
Van de Ven and Sessegnon injury update in boost for Ange
Postecoglou will want a fully fit squad, or at least something fairly close, as soon as possible. Tottenham's hopes of Champions League qualification and possible silverware could well rest on getting the likes of van de Ven back fit and firing for the second half of 2023/2024.
Sharing an update on both the Dutchman and left-back Sessegnon, journalist Wayne Veysey has some pretty good news on when they could come back.
Writing for Football Insider, he claims both van de Ven and Sessegnon are "in line" to return for Spurs next month, with the duo both "most advanced" in their recovery processes from long-term injuries.
The former pulled up with a hamstring problem during Tottenham's 4-1 loss to Chelsea in early November, while the latter has been out since February.
Van de ven and Sessegnon are said to be closing in on returns, and could be fully match fit before the end of January. Postecoglou could use some apt cover behind Destiny Udogie on the left and not have to rely on the right-footed Emerson Royal, with Graeme Souness calling Sessegnon a player of real "quality" when fit and available.