Ange Postecoglou has played down thoughts of a quick return for defender Micky van de Ven, but admits he could potentially be in the mix for the Manchester United game.
Van de Ven has been impressive for Tottenham since he joined the club in the summer transfer window, but has been out of action with a hamstring injury of late.
The defender recently revealed that he could be back training within the next two weeks, but Postecoglou is clear he has said before that he does not look at what players say regarding their respective recoveries.
However, Postecoglou does think that there is a possibility that Van de Ven could be back in the mix for the game against Manchester United on 14th January, all depending on how he looks on the training pitch.
“I’ve said before I wouldn’t be taking players’ views on their recovery process”, the Spurs boss told a press conference.
“He’s getting closer, we’ll see him sometime in January. I don’t think Burnley but Man United on the 14th i think potentially.
“But again, I don’t OK at comeback dates until I see them training with us and he’s not part of the group. He’s not due to be part of the group this week, we’ll see how he’s going by the end of the week.
“Once they start training with the group we’ll think about when they’ll be available.
“He’s at the tail end of it for sure so at some point – middle of January definitely we’d think he’d be available but how we use him then, after such a long absence, is going to depend on where we feel he’s at.”
Despite Van de Ven closing in on a comeback, Postecoglou has been clear that he is looking to sign another centre-back in the rapidly approaching January transfer window.
