Tottenham Hotspur head coach Ange Postecoglou has conceded that Micky van de Ven appears to have sustained a serious injury in his side's 4-1 Premier League London derby defeat to Chelsea on Monday.
The Lilywhites lost a top-flight game for the first time under Postecoglou against the Blues, who recovered from Dejan Kulusevski's early strike to prevail through Cole Palmer's penalty and a Nicolas Jackson hat-trick.
Destiny Udogie and Cristian Romero were both made to take the walk of shame as Tottenham imploded against Mauricio Pochettino's team, and Postecoglou also witnessed Van de Ven and James Maddison sustain injuries on a disastrous evening.
Van de Ven pulled up in agony as he tracked back towards the end of the first half, going down clutching the back of his thigh before hobbling off the field with the help of the medical team.
The Dutch defender - who has seamlessly slotted into the Tottenham backline since his summer arrival - could not bear any weight on his right leg as he was carried off, sparking fears of a long-term absence.
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Speaking to the media after the game, Postecoglou confessed that Van de Ven will likely face a lengthy recuperation period, although both he and Spurs fans are still waiting for an official diagnosis.
At the same time as Van de Ven's withdrawal, Maddison was also forced off the field due to an ankle concern after the former Leicester City man went down without contact inside the Chelsea penalty area.
Postecoglou was none the wiser about Maddison's condition, though, saying: "It's too early but looking at Micky you're thinking it's a pretty significant one so you'd assume he'll be out for a little while. Madders got a knock on the ankle and we'll just have to assess him and see how it is," as quoted by football.london.
Amid talk of a new centre-back arriving in January, Van de Ven's expected absence leaves Eric Dier and Romero as Postecoglou's only two senior central options, while 18-year-old Ashley Phillips is also at the Australian's disposal.
However, Romero is set to serve a three-game suspension owing to his straight red card on Monday, as the Argentine - who had got away with an earlier kick out at Levi Colwill - caught Enzo Fernandez with his studs inside the box.
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The Argentina international will now miss meetings with Wolverhampton Wanderers, Aston Villa and Manchester City and will be joined on the naughty step for the former by Udogie, who was sent off for two yellow-card tackles on Raheem Sterling, the first of which was checked for a potential red card before VAR stuck with Michael Oliver's on-field decision.
Postecoglou - who was also cautioned on the day - had no qualms with Romero's dismissal, though, saying: "He's a physical guy. It's a part of his strengths and today it was deemed he went too far and we've just got to cop it."
Even with nine men on the field, Spurs continued to employ Postecoglou's risky tactics, but the Australian's loyalty to the high line backfired as Jackson broke through three times in the final 20 minutes.
Rodrigo Bentancur and Son Heung-min wasted golden opportunities to claw a depleted Tottenham back into the game, though, and Postecoglou could not fault his players' desire, adding: "It's hard to analyse from a football perspective.
"You're left with the result which is disappointing. You don't like to lose, particularly here at home. Super proud of the players' efforts, will, determination and desire to try to get something out of the game. Then there's the fallout from it from our perspective, personnel-wise. I guess we'll deal with that in the coming days."
Tottenham's first league loss of the season leaves them one point behind Manchester City in second place, and Postecoglou also offered his view on VAR and Oliver's decisions during the frenzied derby.
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