Micky van de Ven may have calmed Tottenham supporters’ fears after a worrying moment on international duty. The defender seemed to hurt himself in the Netherlands’ Nations League win over Serbia, when Luka Jovic landed on his arm. Van de Ven dropped to the ground clutching his hand and went off with only minutes left to play.
The Spurs captain has since posted photos from the international break on Instagram, with a caption saying the two weeks were something to build on. He said nothing about an injury. He played left-back in all four of the Netherlands’ games, which finished as a 1-1 draw with Germany, a 2-1 win over Serbia, a 2-2 draw with Greece and a second 2-1 win over Serbia.
Netherlands boss Xavi played the issue down after the match, saying the problem was a finger injury that left Van de Ven feeling dizzy and was nothing serious. Spurs are still expected to assess him once he is back at the club, and he will be hoping to be fit for Saturday’s trip to Manchester United at Old Trafford, when the Premier League resumes.
Van de Ven isn’t the only Tottenham defender to run into trouble with the Netherlands. Jan Paul van Hecke returned to Spurs early in the break after leaving an open training session just seven minutes in. Xavi explained that someone had stepped on him during the Serbia game and he hadn’t noticed at the time, but by the end of the match he could not play on. Van Hecke was desperate to try and joined recovery training on Tuesday and again on Wednesday, but he couldn’t even touch the ball, so he was taken off the squad list.
Spurs now head into the United game still chasing their first win of the season. Roberto De Zerbi’s side are bottom of the table with two points from their first five matches.
