- Postecoglou lost both summer signings to injury when Spurs faced Chelsea
- Tottenham will now face an ascendant Everton side at home in north London
- Arsenal were a better watch last season and played riskier football BUT they have more steel now… it could take them to the title – It’s All Kicking Off
Tottenham stars James Maddison and Micky van de Ven are ‘nowhere near’ training with the first team after being sidelined by injuries earlier this season.
Both of Ange Postecoglou‘s summer signings played important roles in spurring the north London side to their snappy unbeaten Premier League start, but the manager has had to do without the two players after losing them during the 4-1 defeat against Chelsea.
‘Hard to say,’ Postecoglou said on Friday on a potential timeline for Maddison and Van de Ven’s return.
‘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 (Rodrigo) Bentancur fairly similar.
James Maddison is unavailable for new club Tottenham for the foreseeable future due to injury
During a torrid 90 minutes against Chelsea in November, Micky van de Ven was also forced off
Ange Postecoglou refused to put a timeline on the return of his much-missed summer signings
‘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.’
Since losing the talents, Spurs have had a patchy league, winning just two of their last six top-flight ties.
Ahead of them lies a tricky test in the form of Sean Dyche’s Everton, who are on the ascendancy after their jaw-dropping 10-point deduction.
Despite being banished to second-bottom of the table with the Premier League sanction, the Toffees have since responded with a determined streak of form that has seen them climb up to 16th in the table.
The Australian manager was full of praise for his opposite number in the dug-out on Saturday, saying: ‘If you take away their 10-point deduction, they’d be in a fairly good position in the league. I think they’ve been one of the more consistent sides all year.
‘Sean’s done an outstanding job but when you get hit with something like that it’s often a measure of the playing group and the manager, how they respond to adversity and you’ve got to say the response has been first class.’
Brennan Johnson (right) will be available to face Everton after picking up a knock at Forest
Postecoglou will be able to call upon injury doubts Brennan Johnson and Giovanni Lo Celso for the home clash as they bid to shore up their place in the top-four fight.
The head coach said that Lo Celso was ‘fine’ and that he had ‘trained for the last couple of days’ after picking up a knock ahead of Spurs’ last run-out against Nottingham Forest.
Johnson was forced during the trip back to the City Ground after signing for Spurs in the summer, but will return at home over the festive weekend.
The home side will be without the services of Destiny Udogie and Yves Bissouma after both of the players picked up cards against Forest, with Bissouma receiving his second red card of the campaign.
