Tottenham lost 4-1 to Chelsea on Monday, but the defeat was far from the most damaging thing for Spurs on the day.
Indeed, the two red cards and the two injuries could have much wider-reaching ramifications for the north London club for the remainder of this season, and perhaps the most concerning issue was regarding Micky Van de Ven.
The Dutchman pulled up with what appeared to be a hamstring issue on Monday, and according to Alasdair Gold, speaking on the Gold and Guest Talk Tottenham Podcast, this one didn’t look good.
Gold was in the press box during the game, and he kept a keen eye on Van de Ven as he walked off injured, and he says that the centre-back could barely walk around the pitch when he came off, claiming that he probably should’ve gone off on a stretcher rather than being simply substituted.
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Van de Ven was struggling
Gold shared what he noticed about the defender after his injury.
“No, it really doesn’t. When we watched him he was sort of walking around the pitch, and he couldn’t really walk. We were both saying ‘why are they not helping him?’ That was a player who probably needed to go off on a stretcher to be honest,” Gold said.
Doesn’t sound good
This really isn’t what Spurs fans want to be hearing right now.
We really hoped that this was just a niggling injury for Van de Ven and he’d be back soon, but, by the sounds of it, something has happened with his hamstring, and he could be facing a significant spell on the sidelines.
Hamstring injuries need to be managed very carefully, and while it would be tempting to rush Van de Ven back, Spurs need to make sure the Dutchman is managed correctly as a player this fast and strong can be susceptible to repeat issues, especially with their hamstrings.