Micky van de Ven should be fit to start for Tottenham Hotspur in their EFL Cup semi-final second leg against Liverpool at Anfield on Thursday.
The Dutch defender has been sidelined for almost all of the last three months due to a hamstring injury, but returned to the side against Elfsborg in the Europa League last week.
Manager Ange Postecoglou essentially used that fixture as match practice for Van de Ven, substituting him at half time after getting through the opening 45 unscathed.
The importance of this fixture and keeping Van de Ven fit was illustrated by the fact Postecoglou left the 23-year-old out of the squad entirely for their trip to Brentford at the weekend, keeping him fully prepared for this encounter.
Van de Ven's return has coincided with some bad news for Spurs though, as it was confirmed on Monday night that Radu Dragusin will miss the rest of the season with an ACL injury picked up in that win over Elfsborg.
With one player out for the long term, Postecoglou has at least confirmed that he expects numerous casualties to return in the next week or so, including important first-team players such as Guglielmo Vicario, Destiny Udogie and Brennan Johnson, while fellow attackers Wilson Odobert and Timo Werner are also close.
For Cristian Romero and Dominic Solanke, they will have to wait a bit longer before they can make a comeback, but fortunately for Spurs, Richarlison has returned in recent weeks, and has a good career record at Anfield.
The Brazilian scored twice for Everton in Merseyside derbies here, including in a 2-0 win in 2021, and he also netted Spurs' equaliser in the bizarre 4-3 defeat here in 2023.
Spurs were busy late in the transfer window, adding further cover in attack and defence, with Mathys Tel and Kevin Danso arriving from Bayern Munich and Lens respectively.
Both could be able to make their Spurs' debuts here if work permits are approved in time, like was the case with goalkeeper Antonin Kinsky in the first leg, with the Czech keeper playing a big role in the win.
Tottenham Hotspur possible starting lineup:
Kinsky; Pedro Porro, Van de Ven, Davies, Gray; Bergvall, Bissouma, Bentancur; Kulusevski, Richarlison, Son
Click here to see how Liverpool could line up for the second leg.
Andrew Delaney
