Tottenham Hotspur defender Micky van de Ven has been speaking about his time on the sidelines following his recent injury.
It is yet another quick turnaround for the Lilywhites who return to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium for the second time in eight days on Sunday.
Tottenham are going into the game on the weekend having been held to a draw on Tuesday night by their London rivals West Ham.
However, there were some positives to take from the game as Ange Postecoglou was able to bring back Micky van de Ven to the starting XI.
A return to the fold which the Spurs fans very much enjoyed as they took to social media to hail the Dutchman’s display.
The Australian manager will now be left with a decision to make ahead of Sunday as to whether Van de Ven can manage two games in a matter of days.
Radu Dragusin was forced to wait for his opportunity in the Spurs side and he has almost immediately been hooked back out following Van de Ven’s return.
Van de Ven did play the full 90 minutes on Tuesday which may suggest there are no further concerns surrounding the injury picked up against Aston Villa.
But what is apparent is that his hamstrings are something which may need to be nursed over the long-term with two injuries already since joining Spurs.
Van de Ven admits he had the full Tottenham experience whilst injured
Having sustained another hamstring injury in the game at Villa Park, the 22-year-old was forced to watch the games from the sidelines.
He only missed one game in total with the international break providing him a two week cushion to help his return.
The less said about the Fulham game the better, however, Heung-min Son left it late last weekend against Luton Town to seal the points.
Van de Ven had returned to the squad for the game, but he did have to watch on from the bench with Dragusin keeping his place.
Although it was the South Korean captain who scored the winning goal on Saturday against the Hatters, Van de Ven was full of praise for Brennan Johnson after the game.
The pair were given the nod from the start on Tuesday night in east London, but it proved to be an equally frustrating night for Tottenham.
And speaking to Spurs Play, the Dutchman has admitted it was a stressful experience watching Spurs leave it late again to take the points.
“It’s so difficult. It’s so difficult to watch, like when you’re playing if you’re 2-1 and it’s minute 85 or something; on the bench you want to do something. You get so nervous and everything, but when you’re playing you’re calm.
“You don’t feel the pressure, you’re just like playing, you’re playing. But when you’re on the bench… looking at the time every 10 seconds or something. So to watch from the side is so difficult.”
“It’s crazy. You can’t do anything. Most of the time you are involved in it, so you don’t feel the pressure, but now you have to look from the sides [covers eyes with hand].”
Postecoglou says Van de Ven is the type of player he wants at Tottenham
Champions League football is the hot topic of discussion in Postecoglou’s press conferences at the moment.
Spurs remain well in the hunt for a top four spot, although they could even qualify for the elite European competition with a fifth placed finish.
The Australian has urged people to realise it is not going to defy what Spurs do next season and has insisted to the media he does not want players who’ll only sign for Champions League football.
“Because they don’t want to come to Tottenham… they want to go to a Champions League club. I signed Micky van de Ven this year — he’s not a bad player is he? And we were in the Champions League? No.”