Micky van de Ven was at the centre of an unfortunate incident with Liverpool star Alexander Isak in Tottenham’s 2-1 loss.
Isak opened the scoring at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, but was then forced off with an injury straight after.
It was Van de Ven‘s challenge that led to the issue for the Reds frontman, as the Spurs defender went in with a heavy tackle to attempt to stop his shot.
Liverpool confirmed that Isak has had surgery on the ankle injury, which included a fibula fracture, and has led to calls for the Lilywhites ace to be punished.
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Former Chelsea defender Frank Leboeuf has called for the Tottenham star to face the repercussions after the tackle, which has led to a devastating injury for Isak.
He believes that while Van de Ven’s style of defending and refusal to give up the chance is admirable, he was not in control when he tackled the Reds ace.
Speaking on ESPN on 21 December, he said: “I love the way Van de Ven is behaving and the way he plays football, and I love the player, but he has to be punished.
“I’m sorry, you cannot get out of that when you broke the leg of somebody. You take a chance, you’re a defender. I was a defender and never injured any player.
“You can tackle, you can be hard, but you have to know and be in control of what you do. And, I’m sorry, in that manner, and the result says a lot, Van de Ven was not in control.
“For me, that’s maybe unfortunate, but something has to come out. He cannot go unpunished again after that tackle.”
Van de Ven defended after retrospective punishment claims
John Wenham believes that Van de Ven did not intentionally set out to hurt his opponent, as he is not that type of player.
Speaking exclusively to Tottenham News, he said: ”Van de Ven had to make a challenge to try and stop Isak from scoring.
“Van de Ven is not the sort of player to make a challenge that would endanger an opposing player.”
When asked whether he should be punished retrospectively, as Leboeuf has suggested, Wenham believes that it is not realistic.
Ultimately, while it is unfortunate for Isak, it was a legitimate attempt to get the ball and stop a goalscoring opportunity, and it would set a dangerous precedent if he were punished after the fact.
Thomas Frank will hope that Wenham’s verdict is correct, as he would not want to be without his best defender as he tries to turn Spurs’ fortunes around.
The ex-Brentford boss faces a tough period, and he needs the Dutch centre-back to be available, especially after Cristian Romero was sent off.