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Ange Postecoglou says that Son Heung-min should be ‘okay’ to play in Tottenham’s big Premier League match against Aston Villa on Sunday.

The Spurs captain has missed the last three games with a thigh issue, with Postecoglou previously stating that he was aiming to be ready in time for the Villa clash.

Tottenham have had mixed results in Son’s absence, beating AZ in the Europa League and Manchester City in the Carabao Cup but losing at struggling Crystal Palace in the Premier League last Sunday.

The South Korea star has three goals and two assists in just six league appearances so far this season and with the club lagging behind in eighth in the table, they’ll want him back for such a big game.

Villa are fourth in the table and head to north London with an outstanding away record: five wins, one draw and no defeats across all competitions so far.

Postecoglou will therefore be relieved that his captain was back in training on Friday and says that providing nothing goes wrong he should be available.

‘Sonny has trained today, so if he gets through training tomorrow he should be okay,’ the manager said in his pre-match press conference.

But Tottenham have other injury worries to deal with, notably first choice centre-back duo Micky van de Ven and Cristian Romero, both of whom hobbled off injured during the 2-1 win over City on Wednesday night.

Van de Ven left the pitch in tears, appearing to have suffered a hamstring injury and having missed 16 games last season thanks to hamstring injuries, fans have been fearing the worst.

Thankfully for them, it seems that while the Dutch defender will miss the Villa game, he won’t be out for too long.

‘Main one is Micky, he has sort of strained his hamstring. It’s not too serious, but probably after the international break for him,’ Postecoglou added.

‘He was really looking forward to the game, so he was emotional. At least it’s not a bad one like last time that kept him out for quite a while.

‘Romero, [Timo] Werner. At the moment, still a chance for the weekend.’

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Micky van de Ven appears to have played down the severity of the injury he suffered in Tottenham’s Carabao Cup defeat of Manchester City, reassuring fans that he will be ‘back soon’.

The 23-year-old pulled up with a suspected hamstring problem while sprinting back to tackle City winger Savinho at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, shortly after Timo Werner had opened the scoring.

Destiny Udogie came on to replace Van de Ven – which saw Radu Dragusin switch to centre-half – and the Netherlands defender was clearly in some discomfort as he made his way off the pitch in tears in north London.

‘He felt something in his hamstring,’ Spurs head coach Ange Postecoglou said of Van de Ven’s injury following the victory.

‘It’s still early to predict how long he will be out but he definitely felt something and we’ll see how he is.’

A long-range Pape Sarr strike doubled Tottenham’s advantage ten minutes on from Van de Ven’s substitution and the hosts held firm to secure their place in the quarter-finals after Matheus Nunes had reduced deficit on the stroke of half-time.

The sight of Van de Ven hobbling his way off the field in the early stages took some of the shine off the victory from Spurs’ perspective, though, with games coming thick and fast for Postecoglou’s men.

However, the in-form centre-back – arguably Tottenham’s best player this season – has given supporters hope that his injury may not be as bad as first feared.

‘Back soon,’ Van de Ven told his 500,000 followers on Instagram this evening.

There is no let-up for Spurs, with a tricky contest at home to fourth-placed Aston Villa awaiting them in the Premier League this weekend.

Postecoglou’s side have lost two of their last three matches in the English top flight, suffering defeat at both Crystal Palace and Brighton, and will be desperate to bounce back on Sunday afternoon.

Should Van de Ven be ruled out of the clash, Dragusin will likely to come in and deputise for the Dutchman at the heart of Tottenham’s defence alongside Cristian Romero.

Club captain Son Heung-min has not featured in Spurs’ last three matches but Postecoglou is hopeful the South Korean could be involved versus Villa.

‘Sonny is almost fit but probably from our perspective we’ll aim for the weekend and we’re quite confident he’ll be right,’ he told reporters before Tottenham knocked City out of the League Cup.

The Tottenham boss is also confident both Werner and Romero will be fit and available to face Villa despite the pair failing to see out the full 90 minutes against City.

‘Timo hasn’t played a lot, so I felt it was more fatigue, hopefully, than anything else,’ he said.

‘Cristian said he felt okay, but my gut was telling me there’s no point taking a risk as we had Ben [Davies] who could come on.’

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Micky van de Ven was in tears as he left the pitch after suffering a hamstring injury in Tottenham’s Carabao Cup clash with Manchester City on Wednesday night.

The Dutch defender was chasing after City winger Savinho when he seemed to tweak a hamstring.

The 23-year-old tried to shrug off the problem but was clearly in pain as he grabbed the back of his right leg and treatment on the field could not improve the situation.

Just 14 minutes into the match he was replaced by Destiny Udogie and looked very emotional as he limped off the pitch and down the tunnel.

Teammate Yves Bissouma ran after Van de Ven to give him a hug, with the Dutchman distraught to suffer what appears to be a serious injury.

The rapid centre-back knows all too well how long he is likely to face on the sidelines due to the hamstring problem, having suffered the same issue last season.

He pulled a hamstring in the memorable Premier League meeting with Chelsea on 6 November 2023 and was not back in action until he faced Manchester United on 14 January this year.

There was also concern for Timo Werner in the second half as the German went down seemingly with pain in his groin.

The former Chelsea man opened the scoring at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium but couldn’t make it to the final whistle, replaced by Richarlison on 69 minutes.

Postecoglou said of the injury concerns: ‘Micky felt something in his hamstring. I haven’t got the full update on him but he definitely felt something and we’ll see how he is.

‘Cuti [Romero] was a bit tired. I contemplated changing him at half-time but after losing Micky as well I didn’t want to lose another centre-half. He said he felt ok but my gut was telling me there’s no point taking a risk as we had Benny [Davies] who could come on.

‘Timo hasn’t played a lot so I felt it was more fatigue hopefully than anything else.’

Other than the injury concerns it was an excellent night for Ange Postecoglou, though, as they ousted Manchester City from the Carabao Cup with a 2-1 win.

Werner’s opener was followed by a fabulous strike from Pape Matar Sarr, with Savinho getting one back for City before the break.

That was where the scoring ended as Erling Haaland remained on the bench and Spurs booked their spot in the quarter-finals.

More to follow…

Tottenham forward Richarlison was absolutely fuming after Vinicius Jr missed out on the Ballon d’Or on Monday night, slamming the ’embarrassing’ decision to hand the award to Rodri.

The Manchester City midfielder won the prestigious prize after another superb season for the Premier League champions and Euro 2024 glory with Spain.

Many had thought Vinicius was likely to be the winner after an excellent year with Real Madrid which saw him win La Liga and the Champions League.

However, Rodri won the top prize and Real Madrid had to make do with second, third and fourth, as Vinicius, Jude Bellingham and Dani Carvajal took those spots respectively.

The Spanish giants did not take the results well, boycotting the ceremony after the decisions were leaked, and Richarlison also feels incredibly upset that his compatriot missed out.

Posting on Instagram, the Spurs star wrote: ‘All of us who live football eagerly await the individual awards each season.

‘Today, all Brazilians who love football woke up expecting to see another player from our country win an award for the best in the world after so long.

‘Unfortunately, for reasons that no one can understand, the award did not come.

‘And don’t get me wrong, Rodri is a great player who deserves to be among the best. But Vini not winning the Ballon d’Or was embarrassing, and the only one who lost today was football.

‘I remember Vini saying that his dream was to see the whole of Brazil cheering for him. And that day was today!

‘You are a giant and the best in the world, kid! And no trophy will change that. Keep going and never shut up! We’re together.’

After Rodri was presented with the award, Vinicius responded himself, posting on X: ‘I’ll do it 10 times if I have to. They’re not ready.’

Real Madrid manager Carlo Ancelotti was named Men’s Coach of the Year at the ceremony but sent a pointed message to organisers as he posted: ‘ ‘I want to thank my Family, my President, my Club, my Players and above all Vini and Carvajal.’

In a statement reported by Spanish newspaper AS, Real Madrid said: ‘If the award criteria doesn’t give it to Vinicius as the winner, then those same criteria should point to (Dani) Carvajal as the winner.

‘As this was not the case, it is clear that Ballon d’Or does not respect Real Madrid. Real Madrid does not go where it is not respected.’

Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola was asked about Real Madrid’s boycott of the event and the former Barcelona boss said they were entitled to do what they want, although he would be unlikely to do the same.

‘It’s up to them,’ he said. ‘If they want to congratulate, that’s fine. If not, that’s fine as well. At Manchester City, we are not here to judge other clubs on what they decide they have to do.

‘Last season for example, Erling [Haaland] won the Treble, scored more than 50 goals. I said to him “just being there, you have to be so happy”. I said the same to Rodri. If you are in the first two, three or four, it’s exceptional. Last season, Erling should win, yes. Should Messi have won? Yes. It doesn’t matter.

‘You and your teammates have done something amazing. Should it be Vinicius? Maybe. It’s not an elite group, it’s journalists who vote.’

On Rodri’s success he said: ‘What can I say? First, to congratulate him and all his family and their friends, it’s incredible news for him and for all of us.

‘All Manchester City, our fans, we are so proud of him. We could never have imagined this years ago, that one [City] player could receive this prestigious award. We are so delighted to share it with him and hopefully, it can give him energy to recover well for next season and be with us again.’

Son Heung-min is ‘sore’ after Tottenham’s win over West Ham at the weekend and will not be involved in their Europa League clash AZ on Thursday night.

The Spurs captain scored in the 4-1 win over the Hammers on Saturday but was subbed off after 70 minutes, replaced by Timo Werner.

The South Korean star returned from a hamstring injury to start the match against West Ham and is feeling the effects of a dramatic London derby.

Tottenham boss Ange Postecoglou says he was never intending to play Son against AZ on Thursday and he will be given time to recover from soreness ahead of the weekend.

‘The one’s missing today, Sonny was a bit sore after the weekend and he was never going to be involved tomorrow anyway because he missed a bit,’ the Australian told a press conference on Wednesday.

‘We’re just leaving him out of tomorrow and see how he is from there.’

Spurs return to Premier League action when they travel across London to take on Crystal Palace on Sunday.

It has been an encouraging start to their Europa League campaign for Tottenham, with wins over Qarabag and Ferenvaros in their two outings so far.

‘We’ve started the competition really well,’ said Postecoglou. ‘Whenever you play away in Europe, it’s a different challenge. We’ve exposed our younger players to European football which is a positive.

‘We weren’t in Europe last year and I thought we missed it. We’ve started the competition well but there’s still a long way to go. One step at a time for us.’

Tottenham star Micky van de Ven is facing a side from his homeland in AZ and Postecoglou is thrilled with how the rapid Dutch defender has settled into life in the Premier League.

‘With Micky it’s fair to say he developed late but very quickly,’ said the Spurs boss. ‘Even at Volendam there was a period when they were a bit unsure.

‘For us last year he was outstanding in his first year in the Premier League. He’s growing all the time, maturing. I think the more he plays with the national team it will give him more belief.’

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James Maddison’s half-time substitution during Tottenham’s Premier League clash against West Ham was for ‘tactical reasons’, Spurs boss Ange Postecoglou has confirmed.

It was the Hammers who broke the deadlock in Saturday’s early kick-off at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, Mohammed Kudus turning home Jarrod Bowen’s inviting cross on 18 minutes.

Spurs equalised 10 minutes before half-time through Dejan Kulusevski, who got the ball from Maddison before making progress towards the West Ham goal and beating Alphonse Areola from the edge of the box.

The only half-time change saw Pape Sarr replace Maddison, who appeared to take a knock just before the interval.

But TNT Sports commentator Darren Fletcher suspected Maddison has suffered an injury before saying his withdrawal was for tactical reasons.

‘You would think, I’m guessing, he’s taken a slight knock,’ Fletcher said before confirming: ‘Well, I’ve just been told there is no injury to Maddison.

‘It’s a tactical decision from the Spurs manager. To confirm, there’s no injury to Tottenham’s No. 10.’

Reacting to Postecoglou’s surprising decision, co-commentator Ally McCoist said: ‘He [Maddison] was quite quiet, wasn’t he?

‘Clearly Ange was expecting more from him and he’s thought enough is enough at half-time.’

Ex-Tottenham striker Peter Crouch added: ‘I was surprised at first.

‘But you can see Kulusevski is keeping much higher and he’s got two players behind him now for more protection. What you’ll see now is Kulusevski in a much freer role.’

Maddison soon took up his place on the Spurs bench once the second half resumed and watched on as the hosts scored three goals in 15 minutes to take a commanding 4-1 lead.

Yves Bissouma put Spurs in front seven minutes after the restart before Jean-Clair Todibo scored an own goal as West Ham fell two goals behind.

Son Heung-min skipped clear and beat Areola to add Tottenham’s fourth in a remarkable blitz following the half-time break.

Following Tottenham’s 4-1 win, Postecoglou explained his decision to remove Maddison at half-time.

‘Yes it was tactical, I just felt we needed a bit more running power in that midfield area,’ the Australian added.

‘Pape gives us some good energy there and I thought that really helped us in the second half.’

Assessing his team’s performance, Postecoglou added: ‘I thought we were good today. We had to work hard in the first half but we got back into the game after conceding.

‘After that it was outstanding from the lads, good energy, some good goals although I thought we could have gotten a few more. Good day at the office.’

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The fastest player at all 20 Premier League clubs this season so far has been revealed and there are some surprising names missing from the list.

When you think of top flight speedsters, the likes of Adama Traore and Kyle Walker might spring to mind, but neither of them are even the quickest at their own clubs.

More predictably the galloping centre-back at Tottenham Micky van de Ven is not only the fastest player at Spurs but in the entire division.

The Dutchman has already registered the highest speed since Premier League records began, clocking 37.38 km/h in January when Tottenham played Brentford.

Van de Ven hasn’t quite hit that height again this season, but has still gone quick enough to out-pace everyone else in the top flight.

Outdoing Traore at Fulham is full-back Antonee Robinson and out-pacing Walker at Manchester City is Erling Haaland, with the giant Norwegian incredibly fast as well as powerful.

A new name to many will be Wolves winger Carlos Forbs who is on loan from Ajax this season and has quickly showed off his blistering pace, with only Van de Ven quicker.

Here are the quickest players so far this season thanks to data from the BBC and Opta.

Van de Ven arrived from Wolfsburg last year and quickly impressed his Tottenham manager Ange Postecoglou, not just for his immense pace.

The Australian said of the 23-year-old last season: ‘Obviously we kind of knew what we were getting with Micky from a physical perspective.

‘There was plenty of evidence that we’d already seen that his speed and his ability to recover was elite, for sure. But then it’s not just about running fast, football is more than that. It’s more than just speed, you’ve got to use that in the right way.

‘I’m really impressed with how he’s adapted to Premier League football. He’s up against the top strikers every week and obviously he was out injured but when he’s played, his ability to use that speed in an effective way in terms of his defensive work, I think has been outstanding for a young man in his first year.’

Tottenham have been handed a double injury boost with Ange Postecoglou ‘hopeful’ that Son Heung-min and Richarlison will be available for selection against West Ham this weekend.

The Spurs captain was forced off in the second half of the 3-0 win against Qarabag FK in the Europa League last month.

The South Korean missed Tottenham’s next three games and remained in north London over the international break to continue his rehabilitation.

Richarlison, meanwhile, has not been seen since a substitute appearance against Everton in Tottenham’s second game of the season.

The Brazillian sustained a calf injury in training but is also now fit again having missed his side’s last eight games.

Speaking ahead of Spurs’ clash with West Ham on Saturday, Postecoglou told the club’s media channels: ‘I guess the main ones, Sonny [Son Heung-min] and Richy [Richarlison], have done some good work and trained with the group which is a real positive for us.

‘Sonny was always hopefully going to get through this international break really well and be ready, and Richy has done some good work, so hopefully both are available for the weekend.’

Elsewhere, summer signing Wilson Odobert remains sidelined with a hamstring injury, while Postecoglou was confident that Lucas Bergvall can shake off a knock picked up with Sweden to play a part on the weekend.

‘The international guys, just about all of them got through okay. We’re still waiting on a couple to come back into the building,’ he added.

‘Lucas is the only one that had a slight niggle but again we’re hoping that he’ll be okay.

‘It’s really only Wilson, who has also done some good work in the last couple of weeks, and hopefully he joins the main group at some point next week.’

Son, if fully fit, will be expected to replace Timo Werner on the left wing who has struggled to fill the void left by the South Korean’s abscence.

Tottenham will be hoping to get back to winning ways after a spectacular collapse last time out against Brighton saw them lose 3-2 away from home having led 2-0 at the break.

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Tottenham will hope to have Son Heung-min available once again when they return to Premier League action against West Ham United this weekend.

Son has missed his side’s last three games after limping off with a hamstring injury in the Europa League victory over Qarabag.

After sitting out of games against Manchester United, Ferencvaros and Brighton, he also missed South Korea’s World Cup qualifying clashes against Jordan and Iraq.

Ange Postecoglou will provide update on the 32-year-old this week with hope he can return to the squad.

Richarlison meanwhile has not featured since the second game of the season with his manager urging reporters ‘to stop asking me about him’ in late September, admitting the Brazilian was still a ‘fair bit off’.

Elsewhere, Wilson Odobert is recovering well from a hamstring injury he suffered in the Carabao Cup against Coventry although this weekend may come too soon for the former Burnley winger.

Lucas Bergvall meanwhile returned to north London ahead of schedule after suffering a ‘minor injury’; that ruled him out of Sweden’s game against Estonia. He will be assessed ahead of Saturday’s lunchtime kick-off.

West Ham United meanwhile have a relatively clean bill of health ahead of the London derby.

Summer signing Niclas Fullkrug has failed to get going in east London with an achilles problem also hampering his start to life at the Hammers, having not played since August.

Speaking before the game against Ipswich Town, Julen Lopetegui was hopeful he would be in contention again following the international break. The Spaniard is expected to provide a further update on the striker later this week.

Predicted Tottenham XI to face West Ham

Vicario, Porro, Romero, van de Ven, Udogie, Kulusevski, Bentancur, Maddison, Johnson, Solanke, Son

Predicted West Ham XI to face Tottenham

Areola, Wan-Bissaka, Todibo, Kilman, Emerson, Rodríguez, Bowen, Soucek, Pacqueta, Kudus, Antonio

Where to watch Tottenham vs West Ham? Kick-off time and TV channel

Tottenham vs West Ham kicks off at 12:30pm on Saturday 19 October.

Live coverage is available on TNT Sports 1 and TNT Sports Ultimate and available to stream on the Discovery+ app.

Son Heung-min’s father has been found guilty of ‘violating child welfare law’ after abusing young players at his football academy.

Son Woong-jun was one of three coaches indicted on charges in August having been accused of physically and verbally abusing young players who are part of the Son Football Academy in South Korea.

The trio have now been found guilty by a South Korean court and ordered to pay a fine of 3 million won (£1,683) as well as complete 40 hours of child abuse treatment programs.

Woong-jung, 62, denied wrongdoing but issued an apology in which he said he would review the coaching methods at his academy.

The allegations were initially investigated in March after a parent of one of the children at the academy went to police with concerns.

They claimed their son had sustained injuries to his thigh area and required two weeks of treatment after he was struck with a corner flag by Heung-yun at a training camp in Okinawa, Japan, in March this year.

The youngster’s parents also allege that Woong-jung hurled profanities at players for making mistakes during those sessions.

Video footage showed Woong-jung kicking a player during a match and other coaches swearing at the children, according to reports.

Woong-jung, well-known in South Korea for his time as a professional player, previously admitted hitting a student with a corner flag for ‘coming last in a race’, for which he apologised but didn’t agree it amounted to ‘physical abuse’.

‘This incident was not corporal punishment but a mutually agreed event as part of fitness training,’ he said in a statement at the time, claiming the player was supposed to be ‘hit once’ on the thigh.

The Son Football Academy – which boasts six pitches, a classroom and a clubhouse – cost around £11 million to construct, according to The Athletic.

Son’s dad is credited with coaching and developing the now Tottenham captain when he was a youngster.

The Spurs forward has missed his side’s last three games with injury but will hope to make a return after the international break.

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