Tottenham Boss Fears Jan Vertonghen Could Miss Season Opener

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Belgian defender crocked after pre season fall.

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Tottenham Hotspur manager Andre Villas-Boas fears that star defender Jan Vertonghen could miss the start of the season after sustaining some possible ankle ligament damage during a pre season friendly, the Mirror reports.

The Belgian international slipped on the water logged turf in this weeks Barclays Asia Trophy encounter with Sunderland in Hong Kong. Many believe the game should not have gone ahead as it was reduced to 40 minutes each way thanks to the torrential downpour that preceded it, but officials deemed the pitch playable and the game went ahead under slightly strange circumstances.

Vertonghen slipped and injured his left ankle just six minutes after coming on as a half-time substitute for defender Steven Caulker and needed a further six minutes of attention on the pitch before being carried off on a stretcher.

Manager Andre Villas-Boas said after the game; “He might have sprained the ligaments in his left ankle,” said Villas-Boas. “He will need to have an MRI scan to establish the full extent of the problem.

“But there is some range of movement, so we have to hope it won’t be that long. Hopefully he’ll be back for the first game of the season.

“I was concerned [about the conditions] but what can you do? It isn’t great, the pitch is what it is.

“There are often problems here, but you can’t change the conditions. They are extremely poor.”

Match officials inspected the pitch before kick-off, which was delayed by half-an-hour, and called both clubs to a pre-match meeting in the tunnel, at which it was agreed to play 40 minutes in each half.

Spurs took the lead through Gylfi Sigurdsson in the first-half, before Cabral equalised for Sunderland before half-time.

Wes Brown headed Sunderland in front, before David Karlsson added the third late on to put Paioo Di Canio’s side in Saturday’s final where they will face either Manchester City or South China.


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