Jan Vertonghen available for Belgium friendly before North London Derby

Tottenham Hotspur central defender Jan Vertonghen was held out of Tuesday’s 3-3 international friendly draw with Mexico after he tweaked his ankle in training with the Belgium national team earlier in the week.

That’s the bad news. The good news is that, as previously reported, the injury was nothing serious and Verts was held out as a precaution. Roberto Martinez said that Super Jan is good to go for tonight’s friendly against Japan in Bruges, which means that barring any further setbacks, he’ll be fit for this weekend’s North London Derby.

“I can already tell you that Simon Mignolet will start the match against Japan,” said Martinez. “Christian Kabasele and Jan Vertonghen will also play.”

Slowly but surely, concerns over the numerous Tottenham players injured in the wake of Spurs’ wins over Real Madrid and Crystal Palace are starting to be allayed. Vertonghen looks like he’s fine, Harry Kane and Dele Alli seem to be ready to go, and Mousa Dembele appears to be in start-worthy condition as well. We’re still unclear as to the status of Harry Winks and Toby Alderweireld, while Victor Wanyama and Eric Lamela continue their recovery efforts.

Regardless, barring any further injuries ahead of the weekend, it looks like Spurs will be fielding a very strong team against Arsenal at the Emirates on Saturday.