Spurs' Van Hecke leaves Dutch squad with foot knock, may face Man Utd

📰 Reports say the foot injury that forced Tottenham centre-back Jan Paul van Hecke out of the Netherlands squad is less serious than feared. He could still feature in the trip to Manchester United on 10 October. 📌 Key points 🩹 He felt pain after an opponent stood on his foot against Serbia. 🔁 He left the national team and had a club assessment in London. ✅ The scan showed a minor foot injury. 🗓️ He has not been ruled out of the United game, but needs a quick recovery. 🖐️ Van de Ven also suffered a hand injury, reportedly not a serious one. 📝 What happened 🩹 Van Hecke had his foot stood on by an opponent in the Netherlands' 2-1 Nations League win over Serbia. He played the full 90 minutes, but the pain worsened after the match. According to De Telegraaf, he tried to train the next day but soon pulled out, and returned to Tottenham instead of travelling for the away game in Greece. ✅ Since then the news has been positive. Sports Mole, citing Dutch outlet VI, reported that van Hecke's foot problem is minor and that Tottenham expect him to recover fully soon. According to Yahoo Sports, he had initially been expected to miss two or three games, but Dutch journalist Joost Blauwhof said neither van Hecke nor van de Ven has yet been ruled out of the trip to United. 🖐️ In the same game, van de Ven hurt his hand when Serbia striker Jović fell on his arm. Netherlands coach Xavi explained he had felt dizzy from the pain but that it was not a serious injury. 💰 The 26-year-old van Hecke joined from Brighton this summer for £52 million, reuniting with his former boss De Zerbi. He has played every minute of five league games and scored his first goal since the move against Aston Villa (a 2-3 defeat). 📊 By the numbers • Transfer fee: £52 million • 6 games, 1 goal in all competitions this season; every minute of 5 league games • Tottenham league record: D2 L3 (2 points, bottom) • Initial expected absence: 2–3 games → reassessed as a minor injury 🔭 Why it matters Bottom of the league, Tottenham badly need a first win. Having van Hecke, the heart of their defence, available for United would be a big boost. But he will need to recover quickly over the next few days to play, and final confirmation is expected at De Zerbi's pre-match press conference. Tottenham play United away on the 10th, Coventry at home on the 19th and Chelsea away on the 24th in quick succession.