Jan Paul van Hecke was forced out of Netherlands training after seven minutes, and the timing is awkward for Tottenham with Manchester United up next on 2026-10-10. Xavi said the defender had been stamped on against Serbia, then tried twice to train before being withdrawn from the squad. Van Hecke has gone back to Hotspur Way to continue his recovery.
Xavi's update on the setback
Xavi's account points to a painful knock rather than something the staff wanted to push through lightly. Speaking to standard.co.uk, he said: "During the match against Serbia, someone stepped on him." He added: "He really wanted to try, but he was in a lot of pain. That is why we decided to take him off the list."
The coach also said Van Hecke "didn’t realise it during the match, but afterwards it was impossible for him to play." That fits the sequence reported from camp, with the centre-back attempting recovery training on Tuesday and again on Wednesday before being pulled out.
Tottenham's defensive squeeze
The setback lands at a bad time because Van Hecke has already been used heavily for Tottenham. He has made 5 Premier League appearances and played 450 minutes, while Tottenham sit bottom of the Premier League with 2 points from 5 matches.
He is not the only concern. Tottenham's injury list already includes Pedro Porro, Dejan Kulusevski and Mykhailo Mudryk, which leaves little room for another defender to go missing before a trip to a Manchester United side that is 12th with 5 points from 5 games.
The only caution is that the cause of his withdrawal was not fully settled in the earlier reporting, with one account leaving open whether it was pre-planned or injury-related. Xavi's comments about the stamp and the pain make the injury explanation look stronger, but Van Hecke's status for Old Trafford is still a doubt rather than a confirmed absence.
Written by Jack Mercer with AI-assisted research, cross-checked against 3 outlets. How we work →
