- Van de Ven was forced off against Chelsea
- Postecoglou believes VAR stoppages might have caused injury
- Will be out until 2024
WHAT HAPPENED? The defender pulled his hamstring during the 4-1 defeat to Chelsea on Monday and was spotted leaving the stadium on crutches. The Dutch centre-back, who was signed for £43 million from Wolfsburg in the summer, has been sensational with his new club but Postecoglou will have to do without his services for a considerable period.
WHAT THEY SAID: The match against Chelsea saw numerous VAR stoppages and Postecoglou believes that muscle injuries could be on the rise if the officials in the TV room do not speed up their decision-making.
"Absolutely. I am not going to draw a direct correlation to Micky's injury but I was half-tempted to throw some balls out there for them to kick around," he told reporters.
"It's the reason we have warm-ups but if you're going into a game, the fact there was only 47 minutes of game time the other night in whatever it was, 110, that is not ideal for the type of athletes we have out there."
THE BIGGER PICTURE: Postecoglou revealed that Van de Ven faces a lengthy spell on the sidelines and could be unavailable until 2024. However, the manager is confident that the youngster will bounce back "bigger and better" when he returns next year.
"Micky, with a hamstring injury we knew was fairly significant," the manager said. "Probably a couple of months for him, looking to the New Year," he continued.
"He was obviously disappointed but now it’s about rehab and making sure he uses his time to come back better than ever. He’s got good support in the building in terms of the medical team and support staff. Knowing Micky in already the time I’ve spent with him, he’ll leave no stone unturned to make sure he comes back bigger and better."
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Getty ImagesWHAT NEXT? Tottenham will be without suspended Cristian Romero and Destiny Udogie along with Van de Ven against Wolves on Saturday. Postecoglou admitted that it is a concern for him as it would be a significant challenge replacing three of the four first-choice defenders.
"All the absences have an effect on the team," he said. "I guess the unusual one for us [is that there are] not many times in my career when you have such a disruption for one game. We’ve lost four or five starters in one game — three of our back four. That’s where we get affected more than anything else. If it was just Micky, you’d miss him because of the qualities he has. It wouldn’t disrupt us as much. But we’ve got to bring in three different players in a back four, and that’s the big challenge for us."
The Lilly-whites will also miss James Maddison with an ankle injury, while Ivan Perisic and Manor Solomon are recovering from their respective knee injuries. Ryan Sessegnon, who is nursing a hamstring injury, will continue with his rehab as he is still way off from making a comeback.