Van de Ven injury scare hands Manchester United a boost ahead of Tottenham clash

Micky van de Ven limped out of the Netherlands’ 2-1 Nations League victory over Serbia on Sunday after Luka Jovic landed on his left arm during the closing minutes in Eindhoven, casting doubt over the Tottenham captain’s availability for their Premier League trip to Manchester United at Old Trafford.

Van de Ven stayed down clutching his left hand after the incident, with Virgil van Dijk first checking on his team-mate before Netherlands medical staff helped him off the pitch. Dutch head coach Xavi had already used all five substitutions moments earlier, temporarily leaving his side with ten men, but they held on for the win.

Xavi offered cautious reassurance in his post-match press conference. “He’s OK, he felt dizzy because he suffered an injury in the finger — it’s not a big injury,” the former Barcelona manager said.

The incident is the second time a Spurs Dutch defender has been trodden on by a Serbian opponent during this international break. Jan Paul van Hecke suffered the same fate in the reverse fixture in Belgrade a week earlier. He managed to finish that match and Tottenham’s 2-1 win, but lasted only seven minutes of an open training session in Zeist before withdrawing and was subsequently left out of the squad for the Netherlands’ fixture against Greece in Thessaloniki.

Xavi explained Van Hecke’s situation: “During the match against Serbia, someone stepped on him. He didn’t realise it during the match, but afterwards it was impossible for him to play. He really wanted to try, but he was in a lot of pain. That is why we decided to take him off the list. He tried to participate in recovery training on Tuesday. He tried again today, but he couldn’t touch the ball.”

Van Hecke had started the Netherlands’ first two Nations League matches alongside Van de Ven, and his absence from the final group game underlines the extent of his discomfort.

The defensive injury concerns at Spurs represent an unexpected boost for Manchester United heading into their first match back after the international break. Joshua Zirkzee, meanwhile, scored the Netherlands’ winner against Serbia as a second-half substitute — his first competitive goal for club or country since a 1-1 draw with Wolverhampton Wanderers, which was Ruben Amorim’s penultimate game in charge of United.