Tottenham Hotspur manager, Ange Postecoglou, has received an unexpected fitness boost ahead of the Premier League's return. The international break seems to have worked in his favor as he prepares for Saturday's match against Luton Town.
After a disappointing defeat at Fulham before the international break, Spurs are eager to get back on track. Throughout this week, players have been returning to training at Hotspur Way. Surprisingly for Postecoglou, many were ready to jump straight back into full training.
The majority of key players either did not start their second game during the international break or played only a few minutes. This allowed them to return to Enfield training complex without needing a recovery period and instead focus on preparing for the upcoming game against Luton.
The majority of players did not get the chance to play in friendlies
Richarlison and Pedro Porro remained unused substitutes during Tuesday's Brazil match against Spain in Madrid. Richarlison’s lack of playtime might suggest lingering effects from his previous knee issue.
Pape Matar Sarr also stayed benched during Senegal's win against Benin in France while Destiny Udogie was not named in Italy’s squad after playing a full match against Ecuador earlier that week. Guglielmo Vicario made his debut by starting and keeping a clean sheet after watching the first game from sidelines.
Radu Dragusin played only half of Romania’s defeat match with Colombia while Rodrigo Bentancur played Uruguay’s second half as they lost to Ivory Coast. James Maddison contributed an assist for England with just about 20 minutes on field time.
However, some Spurs players had more extensive playtime like Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg who captained Denmark for the first time and scored eight minutes into Tuesday night's game against Faroe Islands; he played almost every minute of both his games during the break.
Availability of Micky van de Ven still under clouds
The latest returnees to Tottenham camp are Cristian Romero and Giovani Lo Celso, who started for Argentina in their victory over Costa Rica. Romero played the full 90 minutes while Lo Celso got a helpful 72 minutes.
Despite some squad members getting substantial game time, most did not. This include Timo Werner who missed out on the Germany squad but trained at Hotspur Way throughout the fortnight. Postecoglou is expected to provide an update on Micky van de Ven's progress after his hamstring problem in his press conference on Friday afternoon.
Tottenham now face two games within three days with Saturday's home match against Luton swiftly followed by a trip to West Ham on Tuesday night. Postecoglou will likely use his full squad to ensure he can put out plenty of sharp players and reduce the risk of injury for the business end of the season.
