The weekend at Selhurst park did not end well for the Belgian center half. Though Spurs came back from 1:0 down to win 1:3 the victory was soured by the injury to Jan’s knee. The extent of the injury is not quite known yet, but Vertonghen is surely set to be out for about 3-4 weeks.
Tottenham said: “Our medical staff will continue to monitor his progress during his rehabilitation to determine when he will be ready to return to training.”
Having formed the core of the defensive unit under Pochetino this season, along with fellow countryman, Toby Alderweireld, the duo helped Spurs boast the tightest defensive record in the PL so far. Vertonghen’s loss is surely going to test Spurs’s thin defensive unit and probably also the chance for some of the fringe players to shine and grab the opportunity.
Austrian Kevin Wimmer was linked to a move to Schalke and all seemed imminent, but Vertonghen’s injury may change the course of his Spurs career. Having been resorted to cup games so far at Tottenham, it hasn’t been the best start to life in England for the Austrian international, but with two exceptional centre halves to compete against, you could say he got to play the minutes he deserved. But now, the story is different. Spurs need a left footed ball playing CB and why buy when you have the player in your ranks to back up your main man? Kevin should slot right in, but this could prove costly to Spurs form which has been quite surprisingly exceptional this season.
A big gamble it would be to shift Dier back to CB after he has settled quite well to the CDM role and even if it is done, Spurs lack the tenacious working defensive shield in the central midfield like Dier. So, again raises the question, who would they buy? Wanyama is a possibility but Saints are not going to let go easily, especially after how Spurs stole Alderweireld from right under their noses.
The sensible yet big gamble would be to trust in Wimmer and go on out there to win games. The worst thing that could happen is Spurs collapse which is not going to happen as I don’t think they are really a one man team, definitely not a team that solely depends on one CB. But the best thing that could come out of this is another CB who is Premier League worthy and have 3 top players pushing each other week in week out. Now that’s a dilemma a manager would love to have.
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