Ange Postecoglou has revealed a huge injury blow for Tottenham Hotspur ahead of its game against Liverpool on Thursday night.
Spurs travel to Anfield for the second leg of the Carabao Cup semi-final, leading 1-0 from the first meeting in London four weeks ago. A patched-up Tottenham side managed to inflict a rare defeat on Arne Slot and had hoped to have more numbers available for Thursday's match.
In particular, center-backs Cristian Romero and Mickey van de Ven have been inching closer to returns in recent weeks. The latter played 45 minutes against Elfsborg in the Europa League last week but was omitted from the squad against Brentford on Sunday.
Postecoglou explained at the weekend that he was trying to keep Van de Ven ‘on ice’ but said he could be available this week. Speaking on Wednesday, however, ahead of the second leg, the ex-Celtic boss said he won’t be able to select his first-choice center-backs.
“With Micky, and Romero to a certain extent, I feel like we've got to be a bit more conservative with them. Micky got through the game alright, but I don't think he feels he's ready for that step up to the Premier League, the intensity of it. The same with Romero.
“My view and decision is that we're not going to risk these guys [against Liverpool], keep them ticking over in training and try to make sure they are absolutely ready, without any more setbacks.”
Asked if Van de Ven’s absence was down to fitness or discomfort, Postecoglu replied: “It's a bit of everything. He got through the game [against Elfsborg] no problem, but we had a look at the figures, in terms of physical [output in the game] and he does a lot more in training, and he got through it okay.”
Spurs defender Radu Dragasin suffered a season-ending ACL injury last week to further reduce Tottenham’s defensive options, although they were boosted by the arrival of Kevin Danso on loan before Monday’s transfer deadline - and he could make his debut against Liverpool.
“After losing Radu, I sat down and thought about what we had ahead of us still... don't get me wrong, we've got a couple of massive games this week, for sure, but we've also bought ourselves a couple of weeks without midweek fixtures [in February],” Postecoglou explained, still on the topic of Van de Ven and Romero’s availability. “Beyond that, Europe kicks in, which is massive for us, hopefully we're in a final in the Carabao Cup, hopefully we’re still in the FA Cup. I just don’t see the sense right now in risking that.
“Having Kevin in is a massive bonus for us. He [Van de Ven] hasn’t re-injured the injury or anything like that. I just feel we need to get more into him, I think he feels he needs to get more into him, same with Romero, so it will just be a wait and see approach.”
Should Postecoglou opt against starting Danso, he could select the same defensive pairing as last weekend when Archie Gray and Ben Davies played at the heart of defence in the 1-0 win over Brentford.