Tottenham: Ange Postecoglou reveals significant Micky van de Ven blow | OneFootball

The Dutch defender was forced to come off early on in Wednesday night's game.

Ange Postecoglou has confirmed that defender Micky van de Ven suffered a hamstring injury in Tottenham Hotspur's 2-1 EFL Cup victory over Manchester City.

It's a rarity to see Pep Guardiola's side lose a game of football. Their defeat against Spurs on Wednesday evening was the first time that they had come out on the wrong end of a result this season, and it was only their second loss of the calendar year in regular time.

As Postecoglou tries to live up to the expectations that he set for himself of winning a trophy of some sort in his second season, as he has done everywhere else he's been, this was a big step towards ending the club's 16-plus year wait for a piece of silverware.

Spurs got off to a flying start, hurting City on the counter-attack inside the first five minutes thanks to some lovely play by their forwards. Timo Werner was there to finish off the flowing move, restoring some of his confidence in front of goal.

He could have doubled their advantage around 10 minutes later following a sloppy pass from İlkay Gündoğan, but the German failed to convert.

Luckily for him and his teammates, that second goal did come when Pape Matar Sarr sweetly struck the end result of a short-corner routine from about eight yards outside of the box around the City defenders and into the near post.

But then, just on the stroke of half-time, City got themselves back in it. Matheus Nunes was free at the far post for Savinho to find. The centre-mid made no mistake with his finish, and the teams went into half-time at 2-1, and that is how it would stay for the rest of the game as Spurs progressed to the last eight.

Tottenham Hotspur: Ange Postecoglou update on Micky van de Ven injury

After his side's momentous victory, the Australian manager confirmed that a hamstring injury, which occurred when making a sliding challenge to clear the ball from Savinho's feet, was the reason for his early withdrawal from the game, in the 14th minute.

"Micky felt something in his hamstring," said Postecoglou, via the Standard.

It was a contest that wasn't short of fitness issues. Savinho had to be stretchered off in the second half after seemingly hurting his ankle, and Manuel Akanji, who was supposed to start the match, was forced to withdraw before kick-off due to a calf issue. Guardiola believes that he now has just 13 fit players to work with and stated that they are "in trouble".

What will make the news of Van de Ven's injury more of a concern for Spurs, other than his visibly upset reaction, is that he suffered a similar injury at around the same point of last season which kept him out for two months.

Spurs should be worried by Micky van de Ven's hamstring issues

It's an unfortunate, sad reality that sometimes players like the Dutchman, who have incredible explosive abilities, are more at risk of picking up these types of injuries.

That's now two in the space of roughly a year for the 23-year-old, and hamstring problems can not go away for many players; they can be like a plague.

Spurs need to do all they can to make sure that his hamstring is fit and healthy before bringing him back into the fold. Luckily, this time they have a capable stand-in in Radu Dragusin, unlike last season where their options after van de Ven were less encouraging.

Postecoglou, the medical team and everyone else associated with Tottenham will be crossing their fingers, wishing for this to not be a reoccurring theme of van de Ven's Spurs career.