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Tottenham enjoyed a productive midweek in the Champions League, earning a 2-0 away win at Eintracht Frankfurt to secure a top-eight spot and advance straight to the last 16.
Perhaps the only downside on the night was the absence of Pedro Porro and the aforementioned Van de Ven, who were not named in the matchday squad.
Spurs have already confirmed that Porro is facing a month on the sidelines, having come off at half-time last weekend in the 2-2 draw with Burnley.
Meanwhile, Van de Ven’s absence from Tuesday’s training and Wednesday’s European encounter was caused by a ‘minor’ issue.
The Dutch centre-back has been a pivotal player this season for Frank’s side, who host second-in-the-table City in the league on Sunday.
Asked whether Van de Ven could feature against Pep Guardiola’s side at the weekend, the Spurs boss said: ‘Micky is a minor one. It will be touch and go.
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And Frank confirmed that Van de Ven could also miss Sunday’s league fixture against City with the problem.
‘Micky has something minor and hasn’t travelled but could be available for City,’ the Spurs boss said on Tuesday.
There was more bad news for Spurs as Frank also confirmed that Pedro Porro was set for a month out with an injury after being taken off at half-time against Burnley on Saturday.
‘Pedro has a hamstring injury and will be out for four weeks,’ Frank confirmed.
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Van de Ven is a doubt for Sunday’s league fixture against Manchester City (Picture: Getty)
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‘Definitely not a help to any of us,’ Frank added on Porro’s injury.
‘Of course we prefer to have the best players out on the pitch. Any coach wants that and any team-mate wants that. That’s why we have a squad though.’
While Tottenham’s torrid league form has them sat 14th in the table, and only eight points off the drop, they have impressed in Europe and could secure an automatic spot in the last-16 with a win against Frankfurt.
Asked to explain the disparity between his side’s performances in the two different competitions, Frank responded: ‘First and foremost, I think tomorrow we have a great opportunity to secure a position in the top eight, which will be a very good result, a very good achievement.
‘We’re very, very positive and looking forward to that. So, that’s what we’re focusing everything we can on.
‘The other thing is that I think the performances for a while have been good in many ways, we just haven’t got on the right side enough to get the three points.
‘That’s what we’re working very hard on, sometimes you’re in that spell. The players are giving everything. But for me, tomorrow, it’s all about Frankfurt. All about the opportunity ahead of us.’
