PFA chief executive Maheta Molango is concerned after seeing Tottenham Hotspur defender Micky van de Ven’s injury.
Micky van de Ven faces a period on the sidelines after a worrying injury as Tottenham Hotspur lost to Chelsea on Monday night.
Tottenham had two players sent off against Chelsea but arguably the biggest miss will be Van de Ven.
The Dutchman pulled up with a hamstring injury and was immediately substituted alongside playmaker James Maddison, who also picked up an injury.
Van de Ven has been excellent this season and the fears about his injury stretch much further than just North London.
PFA worried after Micky van de Ven injury in Tottenham defeat
The theory is that Van de Ven may have picked up an injury because he was stood still for so long during VAR checks.
VAR reviews took more than five minutes as Chelsea had a goal ruled out but a penalty awarded in the same instance.
Van de Ven then had to go on a high-intensity sprint just moments later and pulled up.
PFA chief executive Maheta Molango has now told The Sun that he would ‘intuitively’ agree with the notion that Van de Ven picked up his injury from being stood around for so long, waiting for VAR.
Molango claims that player welfare should be a ‘big issue’ moving forward, but that ruining the product of football is the biggest fear.
We would disagree here; yes, the game is suffering due to VAR right now, but limiting injuries should be a top priority for all.
“Intuitively I would say yes — that the stoppages like we saw on Monday will lead to injuries because players cooled down and then have to sprint straight away,” said Molango.
“Player welfare should be a big issue. But we are killing the product at the moment and that should be everybody’s biggest fear.”
“I would prefer to speak about facts and figures and clear evidence rather than just a feeling. One of our ideas is to create a group of experts who can provide data so we know for sure. So that will be physios, coaches and doctors who can look at everything on the performance side,” he added.
Tottenham fearing the worst over Van de Ven
Reports from the Daily Mail indicate that Tottenham’s medical staff are now concerned that Van de Ven will require surgery on his hamstring injury.
That would be a serious hamstring tear and would leave Van de Ven on the sidelines for months.
Kevin De Bruyne suffered such an injury on the opening weekend of the season and hasn’t returned around three months on.
That would be a hammer blow for Tottenham and Van de Ven, but it may be the catalyst for more care to be taken for players during these long VAR breaks.
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