Tottenham and Ange Postecoglou will be forced to face up to a nightmare Micky van de Ven scenario over the coming weeks. The Netherlands international started their Carabao Cup tie against Manchester City at left-back, but his evening ended prematurely because of a hamstring injury.
Following a recovery run sliding tackle on Savinho, Van de Ven immediately winced at placed his hand on the back of his right hamstring. Given his previous issues in that area, no chances were taken with Postecoglou replacing him after just 13 minutes and subbing regular starter Destiny Udogie on in his place.
"Micky felt something in his hamstring," the Tottenham boss said after their win against City. "I haven't got the full update on him, but he definitely felt something and we'll see how he is." On Thursday evening, Van de Ven himself offered an update of his own as he wrote on Instagram: "Back soon."
Despite that seemingly positive two-word admission, a start against Aston Villa this Sunday is extremely unlikely and that could, oddly, be a blessing in disguise. After just nine Premier League games, the left-footed defender is already on four yellow cards, which means he is one booking away from serving a one-match suspension.
Missing the coming weeks, while far from ideal for Spurs, at least gives him far less matches to pick up that final caution with yellow cards wiped after the 19th fixture each season. Given his disciplinary record over the opening months, the Lilywhites will likely again have to deal with a Van de Ven absence before Christmas.
However, this is exactly why Radu Dragusin was signed with the Romania defender putting in, arguably, his best performance since joining against City. He is the only Tottenham player to have been shown a red card this season, though there are now suspension concerns over two others.
While not an immediate concern, Rodrigo Bentancur and Dejan Kulusevski are both on three yellow cards, as well, with the latter now far more susceptible to picking up bookings. As he has become a hugely important player in central areas, Kulusevski playing 90 minutes and also being in the position to stop counter-attacks is far more likely.
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