Tottenham get major injury boost ahead of Man Utd clash as James Maddison update given

Tottenham Hotspur look set to welcome back defender Micky van de Ven for their Premier League trip to Manchester United later this month - but they will still be without James Maddison.

Van de Ven suffered a serious hamstring injury during Tottenham's 4-1 defeat to Chelsea in November. The Dutch international has missed nine games for his side but returned to training this week.

Spurs host fellow top-flight side Burnley in the FA Cup third round on Friday evening and manager Ange Postecoglou admitted that Van de Ven could feature, which all but confirms his availability to face United the following weekend - although he had less promising news for young striker Alejo Veliz.

“Alejo obviously had a fairly significant injury [against Bournemouth],” Postecoglou admitted. “He had scans after the game and it's going to keep him out for probably a couple of months. He won't need surgery but it’s significant ligament damage.

“Micky van de Ven has trained with us this week which is good. He's got through three sessions. I’m not sure about tomorrow whether he'll be involved or not."

Summer signing James Maddison was also forced off during that defeat against Chelsea in November, having picked up an ankle injury. The 27-year-old instantly became the talisman of the London club and his absence has been a major blow.

Having undergone scans and tests in November, Maddison was initially tipped for a return in January but he is yet to train with the Tottenham squad and Postecoglou has ruled out any chance of a return in time for the Old Trafford trip.

“[Maddison] is not training with us yet," the Spurs boss added. "As I’ve said before, until they train with us it's hard for me to put a timeline on it. He's running with a sports science crew but not with us. He’s not likely to be with us for the next couple of weeks.”