Vertonghen closing in on return for Tottenham

Tottenham Hotspur manager Mauricio Pochettino has hinted defender Jan Vertonghen could be fit for the start of the new Premier League season, despite tearing ankle ligaments less than a month ago.

Spurs are currently in Melbourne where they are due to play Atletico Madrid at the MCG on Friday morning, but Vertonghen has been left behind in north London.

He looked set to miss the whole of August after being injured when training with Belgium ahead of their Euro 2016 quarter-final against Wales last month.

That left Spurs looking short for the opening weekend trip to Everton with Toby Alderweireld and Kevin Wimmer the only recognised centre-backs, with misfit Federico Fazio almost certain to depart.

Toby Alderweireld and Kevin Wimmer (left) could be Tottenham Hotspur’s centre-back pairing for the first game of the season. (Jean Catuffe/Getty Images)

But Pochettino has revealed Vertonghen is recovering well from injury and closing in on a return to full fitness.

“Jan is back in London and training well now, he’s very close to coming back,” said the Spurs boss, who guided his team to third place in the Premier League last term – their best top-flight finish since 1990.

“We’ll see when we arrive on Monday and start to train with the whole group, but if it’s not possible we have enough players to replace him.”