• Premier League

'Blood-spinning' for Vertonghen

ESPN staff
December 11, 2013
Jan Vertonghen suffered ankle ligament damage against Fulham © PA Photos
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Tottenham manager Andre Villas-Boas has confirmed his club will use a contentious 'blood-spinning' technique in a bid to hasten the return of defender Jan Vertonghen from injury.

Villas-Boas revealed Spurs deployed a similar approach to an injury suffered by striker Jermain Defoe last season and now they are relying on medical science to try and speed up the recovery time for defender Vertonghen, who suffered ankle ligament damage in the victory against Fulham last week

The technique, known as PRP [platelet-rich plasma], is believed to improve recovery time for injured players and with Spurs defenders Younes Kaboul and Vlad Chiriches also in the treatment room, Villas-Boas is eager to get Vertonghen back quickly.

PRP involves taking a sample of Vertonghen's blood, removing the platelets - the cells that assist the healing process - and inject them back into the injured area, with apparent dramatic effects in recovery time.

"We want to avoid surgery so we will use PRP treatment to try to get him back as soon as possible," Villas-Boas said in his press conference ahead of Thursday's Europa League match against Anzhi Makhachkala. "We will have the player in a boot for one to two weeks to try to settle it. We've had outstanding results with PRP treatment and we will do that again now."

Some in the game question the legality of PRP, but it does not infringe on any current doping rules and has been declared legal by the World Anti-Doping Agency.

Meanwhile, Villas-Boas has confirmed Kaboul has suffered a setback in his recovery from his latest injury problem, leaving the Spurs boss with concerns over his defensive cover ahead of the hectic festive fixture list.

"Younes was supposed to be back in training but he had a small setback - but he should be back on Tuesday for training," he confirmed. "It's obviously a concern but there's nothing we can do.

"Our conclusion is that, given the amount of injuries he has on his knees, his body is constantly adapting to new positions and straining muscles here and there. We have to be patient with him, trying to build him muscle-wise, and hopefully we can have him back."

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