Postecoglou explains why Micky van de Ven missed Spurs vs Newcastle

Radu Dragusin stepped into the Tottenham defence today for the clash with Newcastle United in place of Micky van de Ven, but Ange Postecoglou has played down the severity of the issue facing the Dutch defender.

Micky Van de Ven not quite fit

The first-choice defensive partnership of van de Ven and Cristian Romero was split up for the trip to St. James’ Park, with Dragusin getting the chance for a rare Premier League start.

It had been touch and go all week for van de Ven, but he was expected to be available (Paul O’Keefe).

However, the 23-year-old was left out of Ange Postecoglou‘s squad, and the Spurs boss has told Football.London exactly why.

He said: “Micky was close in training this week but with the international break he’s not quite 100 per cent. Part of me was keen to give Radu a run, especially at this venue, so yeah we’re going with Radu today.”

Van de Ven should be back soon

Any manager would be gutted to lose a player like van de Ven, but Postecoglou had a fairly positive outlook on the situation.

When asked if he was disappointed about the absence, Postecoglou added: “No, not really. It’s nothing serious. We’ve got a heaped programme straight after the international break so we’re going to need all our back four. So getting Radu a game today I think is a positive thing for us.”

Tottenham host Arsenal in the North London derby in two weeks, and will be hoping to have van de Ven back for that game.

Spurs Web Opinion

Radu Dragusin a more than dependable replacement for van de Ven, and this kind of situation is exactly why we signed him anyway. As long as Micky’s injury isn’t a serious one, it shouldn’t really be a concern. We just need to make sure he’s back for the Arsenal game as his pace will be key.

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