Tottenham Hotspur manager Ange Postecoglou has confirmed that defender Micky van de Ven is back in full training ahead of Friday's FA Cup third-round clash with Burnley.
The 22-year-old has been forced to miss the Lilywhites' last nine Premier League matches with the serious hamstring problem he sustained in Spurs' 4-1 loss to Chelsea on November 6.
Van de Ven's absence coincided with Tottenham's winter plight, as with the Dutchman out of contention, Postecoglou's men have slumped to four defeats while keeping just one clean sheet in nine top-flight outings.
Ben Davies has often filled in as Spurs' left-sided centre-back with Van de Ven in the treatment room, although Postecoglou confirmed last month that the latter was on course to return at some point in January.
Speaking to the media ahead of Friday's visit of Burnley in the cup, Postecoglou announced that Van de Ven was now training with the team, although he could not say for sure whether he would be involved against the Clarets.
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"Micky van de Ven has trained with us, he's been involved for three sessions. Not sure about tomorrow and whether he'll be involved or not," football.london quotes Postecoglou as saying.
Van de Ven's comeback would be a particularly time one for Tottenham, who are working without their other first-choice centre-back in Cristian Romero after the Argentine was ruled out for four to five weeks with the hamstring issue he sustained against Everton on December 23.
Even with Van de Ven on the verge of making his comeback, Tottenham are prioritising the signing of a new defender this month and are working on a deal to sign Genoa's Radu Dragusin, but Postecoglou was none the wiser regarding how far along negotiations are.
"It's hard to say because I don't get involved in that. We have some objectives and aims and we're working towards them," Postecoglou said when asked about bringing in reinforcements early in the window.
At the other end of the field, Alejo Veliz came on as a late substitute in the weekend's 3-1 triumph over Bournemouth, but he was unable to complete the match due to a knee injury, forcing Tottenham to see out the final moments with 10 men.
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Prior to facing the press, Postecoglou offered a separate update on Veliz's fitness to Tottenham's media channels, and he revealed the unfortunate news that the striker would spend a couple of months out of action.
"Alejo hurt his knee the other day, had a scan on it and it'll keep him out for a little while," Postecoglou said. "Doesn't require surgery but he'll still be out for a couple of months which is disappointing for him.
"He'd worked really hard and had to wait for his opportunity, we could see he was developing over the past couple of weeks so unfortunate for him."
Ivan Perisic (knee), Ryan Sessegnon (thigh), Manor Solomon (knee) and James Maddison (ankle) are also in the infirmary, while Son Heung-min, Yves Bissouma and Pape Sarr are all away on international duty.
However, Dejan Kulusevski will return from a one-match ban for the visit of Burnley, where Tottenham will endeavour to record a 17th win from their last 18 FA Cup third-round matches.
Ben Knapton
