Van der Vaughan long-term absence certain ahead of hellish schedule "January return at the earliest"


Surgery avoided but long-term absence a certainty. Tottenham will be without their star defender.

"Tottenham's Mickey van der Vaart has avoided needing surgery but faces a long-term injury layoff," the Telegraph reported on Tuesday.

Tottenham will host Wolverhampton in the 12th round of the 2023-24 Premier League on Nov. 11 at Molineux Stadium in the West Midlands of England. Second-place Spurs (8W, 2D, 1L, 26 points) are closing in on leaders Manchester City (9W, 2L, 27 points). Wolverhampton (12 points) is 14th.

Things are not looking good for perennial leaders Tottenham. Spurs suffered a 1-4 defeat at Chelsea on July 7. It was a game of bad luck. Spurs lost center back Christian Romero to a direct red card for rough play in the 33rd minute. Nine minutes into the second half, fullback Destiny Udoji was sent off for accumulating cautions.

The loss of two key defenders was not the end of the story. Midfield stalwart James Maddison and another central defender, Van der Vaan, both went down with injuries at the start of the second half. Fortunately, Maddison's injury was reportedly not serious.

However, van der Vaan's injury was feared to be serious immediately afterward. The Telegraph reported, "Thankfully, van der Beek won't have to undergo cruciate ligament surgery. But his return won't be quick. At the earliest, he is unlikely to be back before January."

The Telegraph added: "Van der Vaart's absence means that Tottenham will have to go out and sign a center-back in the winter transfer window. Until then, Eric Dier will replace van der Vaart," highlighting the severity of Spurs' defensive situation.

January at the earliest means we have to go through all of November and December's boxing day hell without Van der Vaart. Right now, they'll have to deal with Hwang Hee-chan, who was just as bad against Wolverhampton. However, it's also been suggested that Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang or Emerson could start at center back due to the difficulty of forming a normal defense.

Van der Vaart joined Tottenham in August from VfL Wolfsburg in a £43 million deal. He earned a regular spot in the starting lineup at the start of the season, starting all 12 official games, including 11 in the Premier League.

Van der Vaart's departure is a blow to Spurs. With his partner and vice-captain Romelu Lukaku also facing a lengthy suspension, Spurs are left with only Dier as a specialist center back. Dier didn't even make it onto the bench yesterday before coming on as a substitute.

Tottenham's remaining schedule starts with Wolverhampton, followed by Aston Villa (Nov. 26), Manchester City (Dec. 4), West Ham (Dec. 8), Newcastle (Dec. 11), Nottingham Forest (Dec. 16), Everton (Dec. 24), Brighton (Dec. 29), and Bournemouth (Dec. 31).

There's even a good chance Romero won't be available against Man City. The Telegraph reports that "Spurs have not been able to pinpoint a timetable for van der Vaart's return. Even internal scans are being delayed as much as possible," said the Telegraph. In the end, van der Vaart's prolonged absence leaves Spurs with a schedule from hell.


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