Ange Postecoglou issues James Maddison and Micky van de Ven injury latest
- Maddison and Van de Ven both suffered long-term injuries in Chelsea defeat in November
- Both summer signings became key players under Ange Postecoglou early in the season
- Spurs have won two games on the bounce after a five-game run without victory
Ange Postecoglou says injured Tottenham stars James Maddison and Micky van de Ven are still some way short of rejoining first-team training from their respective injuries.
The two summer signings were key in the opening months of the season for Spurs, who enjoyed a ten-game unbeaten streak to sit at the top of the Premier League heading into November. However, Maddison suffered a flare-up to an ongoing ankle issue while Van de Ven pulled up sharply with a hamstring problem in the chaotic 4-1 loss to Chelsea.
The pair were ruled out for the rest of 2023 with January mooted as their month of return and Postecoglou reiterated that is still the expected timeline of recovery ahead of Saturday's clash with Everton.
The former Celtic manager also added Rodrigo Bentancur, who tore ankle ligaments on his return to the starting XI, is facing a similar timeframe out of the first-team picture.
He said at a press conference: "Hard to say. They're both in rehab and neither of them are anywhere near training with the first team at the moment. If you look at timelines, Micky and Madders did it in pretty much in the same game. Micky might be just ahead of schedule in terms of with Madders. Both kind of January and Bentancur fairly similar.
"It's not about trying to not give out information, these things kind of either accelerate or get delayed when you get into the final phase. Until I see them out with us, it's hard for me to say."
Giovani Lo Celso has returned to training and will be available for the Toffees' visit at the weekend, while Brennan Johnson is also fit after sustaining a cut to the head in the 2-0 win at former club Nottingham Forest last week.
However, Ivan Perisic, Ryan Sessegnon and Manor Solomon remain sidelined, while Yves Bissouma won't play for Tottenham until after the Africa Cup of Nations following his red card against Forest. Destiny Udogie is also suspended.
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