Ange Postecoglou confirms that Maddison & Van de Ven are 'nowhere NEAR' training

Tottenham stars James Maddison and Micky van de Ven are 'nowhere near' training with the first team after being sidelined by injuries earlier this season.

Both of Ange Postecoglou's summer signings played important roles in spurring the north London side to their snappy unbeaten Premier League start, but the manager has had to do without the two players after losing them during the 4-1 defeat against Chelsea.

'Hard to say,' Postecoglou said on Friday on a potential timeline for Maddison and Van de Ven's return.

'They're both in rehab and neither of them are anywhere near training with the first team at the moment.

'If you look at timelines, Micky and Madders did it in pretty much in the same game. Micky might be just ahead of schedule in terms of with Madders. Both kind of January and (Rodrigo) Bentancur fairly similar.

'It's not about trying to not give out information, these things kind of either accelerate or get delayed when you get into the final phase. Until I see them out with us, it's hard for me to say.'

Since losing the talents, Spurs have had a patchy league, winning just two of their last six top-flight ties.

Ahead of them lies a tricky test in the form of Sean Dyche's Everton, who are on the ascendancy after their jaw-dropping 10-point deduction. 

Despite being banished to second-bottom of the table with the Premier League sanction, the Toffees have since responded with a determined streak of form that has seen them climb up to 16th in the table. 

The Australian manager was full of praise for his opposite number in the dug-out on Saturday, saying: 'If you take away their 10-point deduction, they'd be in a fairly good position in the league. I think they've been one of the more consistent sides all year. 

'Sean's