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Okay, first of all, don’t panic.
Still with me? OK.
Belgium national team manager Roberto Martinez announced today that Jan Vertonghen will not feature for the Red Devils in a friendly against Mexico tomorrow. Vertonghen, the only Belgian on Tottenham’s squad who has not been injured yet this season, apparently twisted his ankle in training and is being held out of action.
R. Martínez : "@JanVertonghen suffers from his ankle and will not play against Mexico. He will be available for Tuesday vs Japan" #BELMEX #RoadtoRussia ⚽️ pic.twitter.com/GaiC8JM7P7
— BelgianRedDevils (@BelRedDevils) November 9, 2017
Whew! That doesn’t sound so bad, does it? Yes, an ankle injury sounds scary, but this sounds mostly precautionary, since Martinez indicates that he’ll play on Tuesday vs. Japan.
And frankly, we should probably be glad that he doesn’t have to play on Friday. The less he plays, the lower the chances are that he could pick up a stupid injury and force us to play Juan Foyth in the North London Derby next weekend. Actually, Roberto, could you hold him out Tuesday, too? Just send him home, that’d be fine too.