Tottenham defender Jan Paul van Hecke has indicated that the club's recent pre-season tour of Australia and New Zealand may have contributed to a spate of injuries. Van Hecke detailed a demanding summer schedule that included a break of less than three weeks between the Netherlands' World Cup exit in North America and the team's departure for Oceania.
Van Hecke, who joined Tottenham from Brighton for £54 million, acknowledged the physical toll of the travel. "Everyone knows it's the other side of the world," he stated. "But for physical-wise, of course, it impacts your body. I also struggled for one or two weeks after and that's not ideal."
The Netherlands international played every minute of his country's four World Cup matches, which concluded on June 30. By July 24, he was in New Zealand with Tottenham for a friendly in Auckland, followed by two matches in Australia. His first appearance of the tour was in the final game against Chelsea in Sydney.
"I only had, like, two weeks, two-and-a-half weeks, it was a really short break, to be honest," Van Hecke commented. "My first days were in New Zealand and Australia on the trip. But that's what you want. You want to play football, especially in a new club. I didn't want to miss anything in pre-season."
New Spurs captain Micky van de Ven, who followed a similar schedule, sustained an injury during the tour and did not participate in pre-season matches. Manager Roberto De Zerbi noted that Van de Ven "suffered a problem during the pre-season in Australia. I don't know, the flight, I don't know, something, not a big problem, but not right to work."
Van de Ven made his return as a second-half substitute in Tottenham's 5-1 Carabao Cup victory over Charlton on Wednesday. Other players, including Mateus Fernandes, James Maddison, Dominic Solanke, Kevin Danso, and Destiny Udogie, reportedly experienced minor pre-season injuries that limited their training.
Maddison, who missed a significant portion of the previous season due to a knee injury, also suffered a shoulder injury during the opening day Premier League defeat at Brentford and is expected to be sidelined for a few more weeks.
Following the loss to Brentford, De Zerbi had commented that Van Hecke, Marcos Senesi, and new midfielder Sandro Tonali were not in optimal physical condition for various reasons. Senesi and Pedro Porro played in the World Cup final on July 19 and did not join the tour, while Rodrigo Bentancur was granted extended leave.
"At the beginning of Australia we played every three days," De Zerbi explained regarding Tonali's fitness levels. "The trip was 25/26 hours and the day after we couldn't work in the right condition."
De Zerbi added that upon returning to London, the team could not immediately resume training due to a friendly match against Getafe. "In the last two weeks, the players from the World Cup came and we worked in different situations, but I think he needs more time like JP," he said, referring to Van Hecke.
Tonali and Senesi were excused from the Carabao Cup tie against Charlton to undergo intensive physical training on Tuesday. De Zerbi confirmed that Tonali is set to start against Newcastle United on Saturday.