Vertonghen injured in Tottenham's Barclays Asia Trophy clash

Jan Vertonghen

Tottenham Hotspur were dealt with a severe blow after ace defender Jan Vertonghen suffered a suspected ankle injury during their Barclays Asia Trophy, clash against Sunderland.

The Belgium international suffered the injury just six minutes after coming on as a substitute having landed awkwardly after winning a header.

Tottenham manager Villas Boas said, “It seems like he twisted his ankle so he might have strained some ligaments, but hopefully with not too much damage because he still has a good range of movement.

“It has swollen up a little bit, but we hope it is nothing very serious and with the margin of time before the first game of the season, we might still see him back before that,.

“It was impossible to play football unfortunately because the conditions were extremely poor.” He added.

“He might have sprained the ligaments in his left ankle. We need to have an MRI to see the full extent.”

The match was played under poor conditions after torrential rains caused a water logged pitch.