• Premier League

Vertonghen set for ankle scan

ESPN staff
July 24, 2013
Jan Vertonghen was stretchered off in Tottenham's defeat to Sunderland © Getty Images
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Tottenham Hotspur defender Jan Vertonghen sustained an ankle injury in his side's 3-1 defeat against Sunderland in the Barclays Asia Trophy on Wednesday.

Belgium defender Vertonghen had to be stretchered off early in the second half after landing awkwardly during the friendly in Hong Kong and is now set to undergo a scan to determine the extent of the damage.

"He might have sprained the ligaments in his left ankle," Villas-Boas told Sky Sports. "We need to have an MRI to see the full extent, but there is some range of movement in the ankle so we hope that it won't be that long. We hope he will be back for the first game of the season."

The kick-off had to be delayed by half an hour as a result of torrential rain that severely affected playing conditions, and Villas-Boas said: "I was concerned but what can you do? The pitch is what it is.

"It's always like that at this tournament. The conditions are poor -- they're always like that. You can't change the conditions. They are extremely poor."

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