.jpg?itok=P87vlsSS "Pritam Singh’s verdict on Feb 17: What the trial covered and what’s at stake")
LONDON : Tottenham Hotspur defenders Micky van de Ven and Cristian Romero are still two or three weeks away from returning but the club’s injury list is slowly improving, says manager Ange Postecoglou.
Romero has been sidelined since December 8 and central defensive partner Van de Ven has featured only twice since October 30 and both will sit out the visit of Manchester United on Sunday.
Injury-plagued Tottenham exited both the League Cup and FA Cup last week and sit 14th in the Premier League.
But goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario, out since November, playmaker James Maddison and full back Destiny Udogie have all returned to full training and could feature against United.
The situation with Van de Ven remains frustrating, although Postecoglou is seeing some light at the end of the tunnel.
He suffered a hamstring injury in October and returned against Chelsea in December only to suffer another setback.
The Dutchman did play against Elfsborg in the Europa League last month but has since been considered too much of a risk.
“I guess with Micky, we decided to take a different strategy with him,” Postecoglou told reporters. “We just want to make sure he’s absolutely right.
“Talking to different people, he’s working with different medical teams and rehab staff to make sure he’s right. He’s working well and feeling good, which is a positive.
“You always want to protect your assets and he is a major club asset and to protect his long-term career for the sake of a couple of weeks is worth it.
“Similar with (Romero). We’re just waiting. The healing in his quad is taking longer than we thought. He’s got one more scan to make sure it’s healed properly. Once we get that sign off, we should be good to go.”
Postecoglou has been under increasing pressure with the club’s season lurching from one low to another and on Sunday will be up against United’s Ruben Amorim whose own struggles to turn around his side are just as well chronicled.
“I have respect for all managers because I know how tough it is to do the job. Ruben is just doing what he wants to do,” Postecoglou said. “Manchester United have scouted him and identified him by looking at the way he does business. You bring him in with a purpose.
“If United stick with Ruben for two years then they will see progress. Absolutely, because it’s how long it takes. If anyone believes anything can change in a short space of time, they are living in a alternative universe that is not based on reality.”
Tottenham are also without strikers Dominic Solanke and Richarlison and wingers Brennan Johnson and Timo Werner for the visit of United.
