Tottenham Hotspur manager Ange Postecoglou has confirmed that he could have as many as three players back for the visit of Manchester United in Sunday's Premier League clash.
The Lilywhites have had to work around a crippling injury list throughout the whole of the winter period and were without a full 11 players for the 2-1 FA Cup loss to Aston Villa in last weekend's fourth-round defeat.
Spurs were also dealt a devastating blow with the news that Radu Dragusin has sustained a season-ending ACL injury, which he has now undergone an operation for, but reports earlier this week claimed that no fewer than five stricken players could be fit to face Man United.
Speaking to Tottenham's media channels on Friday, Postecoglou confirmed that Guglielmo Vicario and Destiny Udogie are both in line to return, while Brennan Johnson is also in with a shot of being back from a calf concern.
"Yeah looks like it," Postecoglou replied when asked if Spurs could receive some boosts for the visit of Man United. "Some of the lads who have been out for quite a while look like they're in a good place now.
"Vic [Vicario] is probably the one that's come back ahead of schedule. He's been training really well away from the team for maybe two weeks, but the last 10 days integrated back into the team, so he's in a good place and becomes available for us.
Vicario, Udogie back for Tottenham against Man United
© Imago
"Some of the longer-term ones, Destiny is back in team training as well, he's ticked all the boxes in terms of getting through his rehab and conditioning so he's part of the squad. Brennan's progressing well, will train today so whether that means this weekend or next weekend, he'll be good to go."
As well as the long-awaited returns of Vicario and Udogie, the Tottenham boss also revealed that James Maddison (calf) and long-term hamstring victim Wilson Odobert are also back on the training pitches, as well as Timo Werner.
However, he suggested that Maddison would not be risked for the visit of Man United - even though he is ahead of schedule - and will instead target a return for the trip to Ipswich Town on February 22.
"Madders also a little bit ahead of schedule but he's feeling really good, he's had a good week of training, we're thinking maybe next week for him, he's had the least amount of time out so he's looking in a good place," Postecoglou added.
"Wilson's back which is brilliant for him. We'll see when we re-integrate him back into matchdays. The last one who's training with us at the moment is Timo, who's getting pretty close to being available."
However, first-choice centre-backs Micky van de Ven and Cristian Romero are still out with thigh injuries, while Dominic Solanke (knee) and Richarlison (calf) need a couple more weeks to get back to full fitness too.
Postecoglou provides update on Van de Ven recovery
© Imago
Van de Ven made his comeback against Elfsborg in the Europa League last month but has not been seen since, and Postecoglou explained that the Lilywhites are exploring a "different" recovery strategy with the Dutchman.
"Micky, Cuti and Dom, the next two to three weeks for them," he added.. "Micky played that game [against Elfsborg], we decided that we'll take a different strategy with him so just want to make sure he's absolutely right.
"Similar with Cuti, we're just waiting for his healing of his quads, it's taken longer than we thought it would. He's still got one more scan he needs to have, but once we get that signed off he should be good to go.
"Richy, his was a calf, so probably similar to Madders and Brennan. Depending on how he recovers, Madders has bounced back really quickly - only been two and a bit weeks for him. Brennan's been about three weeks so we're looking at the same sort of timeframe for Rich."
Tottenham reside in a lowly 14th place in the Premier League table but will leapfrog Man United - who are only two points better off - with a victory in Sunday's main event.
Ben Knapton
