Roberto De Zerbi has said that Tottenham Hotspur centre-back duo Micky van de Ven and Jan Paul van Hecke should both be available to start Saturday’s Premier League clash with Manchester United, while it has emerged that James Maddison suffered a small setback in training.
Spurs remain without a win in the Premier League this season and sit bottom of the table heading into the game at Old Trafford, with United boss Michael Carrick also under pressure after an indifferent start to the campaign for the Red Devils.
While Maddison is still on the road to recovery, after missing the majority of last season in his recovery from an ACL, De Zerbi claims that the playmaker could miss some minutes over the coming weeks after suffering a slight setback during the international break.
Speaking during his press conference on Friday, De Zerbi said: “He’s available but he lost three/four days at the end of last week and start of this. James is a special player for us. Gallagher is playing well in the No.10 role. We’re both frustrated because James wants to be on the pitch.
“Not a big injury and tomorrow he can play but the Premier League is tough and you need to be fit and in the right condition to run and fight.
“He is working well and this is the way. The way is to complete 3/4/5 weeks in a row without feeling pain and problems and then he’s a normal player.”
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While Van de Ven and Van Hecke suffered knocks on international duty, De Zerbi has now clarified their situations.
The Italian added: “They are available to play. Micky played four games, 90 minutes and JP just three games.
“The difference is this. JP yesterday, his wife had twins and emotional aspect we have to consider but he’s available.”
Should Van Hecke not be considered good to go then Tosin Adarabioyo is expected to be given the nod as the right-sided centre-back, given that he offers better balance than the left-sided Marcos Senesi.
Dejan Kulusevski, who is still recovering from his long-term injury, will travel with the squad in a support role in a much-needed boost for both the player and the club. De Zerbi revealed: “He is working well. Tomorrow he comes with us for support.
“He is working very well and I think he is an example for everyone. Forget the player but the example of how he reacts to the injury, the character he showed this time was an example and reference to everyone.”
De Zerbi was, however, reluctant to put a timeline on the Swedish winger’s return to first-team action.
He added: “I don’t know, it’s not just my responsibility, we are working together with the medical staff. They are working very well with him, they have done special work. We have to analyse week by week.”
Two players who remain sidelined for the Old Trafford trip are Pedro Porro and Mykhailo Mudryk, with the former pushing to return against Coventry City a week on Monday.