Tottenham Hotspur manager Ange Postecoglou has confirmed a major injury boost ahead of Saturday's Premier League clash with Luton Town in North London.
The Lilywhites return from the international break with some wrongs to right from their most recent top-flight showdown, which ended in an embarrassing 3-0 loss to London rivals Fulham at Craven Cottage.
Spurs' crushing defeat to Marco Silva's side saw them squander the opportunity to rise into the top four of the Premier League table, and they reside in fifth place in the rankings ahead of the resumption of domestic football.
While Tottenham's current standing may suffice when it comes to Champions League qualification, the Lilywhites do not want to leave anything to chance and can temporarily climb into the top four with a positive result against the Hatters.
Postecoglou's men are just three points adrift of Aston Villa, who have played a game more and only boast a +1 superior goal difference, meaning that Tottenham will rise above the dotted line if they beat Luton by at least two goals before the Lions take on Wolverhampton Wanderers in the evening kickoff.
Micky van de Ven back in contention
Before addressing the media in his pre-game press conference, Postecoglou offered an injury update to Tottenham's media channels, where he confirmed that Dutch defender Micky van de Ven is fit and available again.
The former Wolfsburg man was absent from the Fulham defeat due to the thigh issue he picked up against Aston Villa the weekend before, his second such injury of the season after suffering a similar concern against Chelsea in November.
However, Postecoglou immediately insisted that Van de Ven's latest injury was nowhere near as severe, and the 22-year-old should be fine to return to the Spurs XI on Saturday after making his training comeback.
"Everyone got through internationals OK, which was important for us. They've all come back and all trained fully today. In terms of the injuries, Micky's trained the last couple of days, he feels good so he's available," Postecoglou said.
Van de Ven - who was sorely missed in the loss to Fulham - will be expected to demote Radu Dragusin back down to the bench against the Hatters for his 19th Premier League start of a strong debut campaign, in which he also scored the winner in October's Kenilworth Road showdown versus Luton.
Tottenham still missing trio for Luton clash
As well as confirming Van de Ven's availability, Postecoglou added in his pre-game press conference that Richarlison - who did not earn any minutes for Brazil during the international break - is fine and raring to go.
The ex-Everton man only just recovered from a knee injury before the two-week pause and was an unused substitute against England and Spain in the Selecao's two friendlies, but there are no concerns over his fitness.
"He is okay. Had a bit of a knee niggle and we're managing him. Brazil managed him but he trained today and feels good," Postecoglou told reporters on Richarlison's fitness.
However, all of Fraser Forster (foot), Ryan Sessegnon (hamstring) and Manor Solomon (knee) will play no part in Saturday's game, and Spurs confirmed during the international break that the latter had undergone yet another operation. body check tags ::
