Tottenham defender Micky van de Ven returned from injury against Elfsborg in the Europa League
Tottenham Hotspur are safely through to the last 16 of the Europa League after running out 3-0 winner over IF Elfsborg at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
After a quiet first half, the floodgates opened from the 70th minute for the hosts. All the goals were produced from the Spurs factory, with academy graduates Dane Scarlett, Damola Ajayi and Mikey Moore getting on the scoresheet against Elfsborg.
Scarlett came off the bench and broke the deadlock in the 70th minute before Ajayi doubled the lead in the 84th minute. Moore then rounded off the scoring four minutes into injury time to help Tottenham enter the competition’s knockouts directly. This means Ange Postecoglou’s side have avoided a two-legged playoff next month, meaning they will resume their continental adventure directly in March.

The North Londoners were handed an injury boost earlier this week when Micky van de Ven was pictured in team training after almost two months on the sidelines owing to a hamstring injury. Ange Postecoglou confirmed in his pre-match presser on Wednesday that the centre-back is ready for action and will get some minutes against Elfsborg to build his fitness levels.
It did happen likewise as the Netherlands international started the game on Thursday and was withdrawn at half time as planned. When asked by the reporters in the post-match press conference about Micky van de Ven’s return from injury and did it give everyone in the squad a lift, Postecoglou said (h/t Football London).
“Yeah, he’s a quality player mate. You could see already he’s got a presence out there. With the injured guys, we’ve got quite a few that are long-termers, and they just want to help so they’re coming in with really positive energy which helps the other boys. Hopefully over the next two weeks we get some more bodies back which will certainly help us inject some energy into the group.”

Van de Ven is a leader on the off the pitch and that is reflected in the way he applies for Tottenham. The Dutchman’s impact on the team was telling on Thursday night as he time and again snuffed out Elfsborg attacks, dominated the opponents and calmly passed the ball all around. Undoubtedly, Spurs are a better team with him in the XI, allowing the defence to play a high line.
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The 23-year-old’s return from injury is a big lift for Big Ange’s side. Now it is all about managing Van de Ven’s fitness well, as Tottenham look to go on a positive run of form in the Premier League.
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