Tottenham’s international break has gone about as well as anyone could have hoped. Just days out from the return of Premier League football for the final stretch of matches, Ange Postecoglou has no added injury issues to worry about.
James Maddison wasn’t much called on by England despite being present in Gareth Southgate’s squad for friendlies against Brazil and Belgium, and despite wanting to see the Spurs ace in action, few will be too worried about it. Keeping the attacker fit is paramount.
The former Leicester and Norwich man has even been based at Hotspur Way for the past week with the Three Lions in their preparations ahead of Euro 2024. Although plenty of players from the group have been involved for their countries, there have been no added problems to speak of.
The two-week break has largely been about hoping that Micky van de Ven will be back to face Luton on Saturday. Postecoglou said that he was hopeful of the centre-back not being out for long despite picking up an injury in the win over Aston Villa three weeks ago.
“He’ll miss tomorrow [vs Fulham], but with the international break, we’re pretty confident he won’t miss too much more,” said the Australian. Van de Ven will need to be carefully managed having already been out for a chunk of games this season. He will be a key name in the pre-Luton press conference to come.
Meanwhile, there are a host of long-term absences to contend with. Ryan Sesseognon may well not play this term after having hamstring surgery last month. Manor Solomon has also undergone a procedure himself which will keep him out for a prolonged period.
He is remaining positive despite the latest setback in what has been a tough first year at the club. “Hi everyone. Lately I’ve been away from social media and focusing solely on my rehab and getting back on the field,” he wrote online two weeks ago. “The last period has been the most difficult and frustrating in my career.
“In the past five months I’ve been working as hard as possible to get back to doing what I love the most, but unfortunately, I haven’t fully recovered yet. At the same time, I’m full of motivation and will continue to do everything in order to be back stronger than ever to help my club and country. Thank you for your support, see you guys soon.”
Fraser Forster is also out and isn’t expected to be back until April at the earliest. The other questions remain how players recover from travel ahead of playing at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
Son Heung-min should have ample time compared to some of his teammates having played on Tuesday morning against Thailand. Meanwhile, Ben Davies and Brennan Johnson had their last match for Wales in a heartbreaking penalties defeat against Poland later that day.
Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg, Pape Matar Sarr, Pedro Porro, Richarlison, Rodrigo Bentancur and Radu Dragusin were all also in action on Tuesday night. This should, in theory, give them time to be back for Luton.
Bentancur has been playing with a broken toe in recent weeks though, the player revealed earlier this week .”The truth is that now the ankle is fine, luckily the knee has recovered, nothing to speak of other than just one broken toe,” he explained. “I broke the little toe of the left foot two or three weeks ago, but this one I’m still playing the same.
“I broke one of my phalanx and I would have had to stop for three or four weeks so that it could heal but it wasn’t possible. It was before the Crystal Palace match in London in a training session with a team-mate, but it’s almost there.
“I’m playing with my toe recovering but the truth is that once I warm up I forget it. I did not want to stop, so I’m fine and feeling good 100%.”
The two other possible worries are with Giovani Lo Celso and Cristian Romero. The pair both played for Argentina against Costa Rica early on Wednesday morning in a 3-1 win and will now have a long trip home before arriving in England shortly before needing to take to the pitch.
How they get over the jet lag will be crucial to their involvement against the Hatters. Postecoglou will have more on his squad ahead of the game.