Tottenham suffer Micky van de Ven blow with star ruled out with hamstring injury – but Ange Postecoglou hopeful on return date

Micky van de Ven has been ruled out until after the international break with a hamstring injury.

The centre-back left the pitch in tears clutching the back of his right leg early in the first half of Spurs’ victory over Manchester City in the Carabao Cup on Wednesday night.

It sparked fears he may have sustained another hamstring injury as severe as the one that saw him miss two months of last season but Ange Postecoglou was hopeful Van de Ven would have him back much sooner.

‘Micky has strained a hamstring,’ confirmed Postecoglou. ‘It’s not too serious but will probably be after the international break for him.

‘He was disappointed, obviously, he was really looking forward to the game so was a bit emotional but it is definitely not a bad one like last time that kept him out for quite a while.

Van de Ven is confirmed to have suffered a hamstring strain in Tottenham’s win over Man City

Ange Postecoglou said the injury is not as serious as the one sustained by the star last season

‘He will work hard and the good thing is we’ve got the international break, which is an extra two weeks, so hopefully it means he won’t miss too much football.’

There was positive news, though, for fellow centre-back Cristian Romero, who was also brought off in midweek and left Postecoglou with the possibility of being without both first-choice centre-backs for the visit of Aston Villa on Sunday.

‘Romero and Timo Werner were a bit sore but, at the moment, there is still a chance for the weekend,’ he said.

Spurs captain Heung-min Son trained on Friday and should be available after missing the defeat to Crystal Palace and the win over City that secured Tottenham’s place in the Carabao Cup quarter-final.

‘Sonny has trained today so if he gets through training tomorrow, he should be okay,’ added Postecoglou.

Son Heung-Min should be available to face Aston Villa after missing the last two matches

Postecoglou confirmed Wilson Odobert had a ‘significant’ setback after his brief return

It was less positive, however, for £25million summer signing Wilson Odobert, whose return from a month-long hamstring injury was short-lived after a serious setback last week.

‘It’s significant,’ said Postecoglou. ‘Because it’s a reoccurrence we’ll have to be a bit conservative. 

‘I’d say a similar timeframe to his last one, maybe a bit longer, but it’s one of those where you don’t want to put a timeframe on it because it will really depend how quickly he heals from it.’