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Danny Rose has been missing from Tottenham Hotspur’s first team for a while know while he recuperates from an injury, but it sounds like, finally, there’s good news! The Evening Standard is reporting that Danny has returned to training this week and could be set to play for the North London Derby against Arsenal on April 30.
The left-back resumed training outdoors this week and though Saturday’s FA Cup semi-final against Chelsea is likely to come too soon, he is still attempting to recover in time for Arsenal’s visit on April 30. Rose has not played since damaging medial ligaments in his knee in the 0-0 draw at Sunderland on January 31.
At the time, he was expected to be out of action for only about a month but the problem has taken far longer than expected to solve.
While Rose may struggle to come straight back into the starting XI, a place on the bench against the Gunners is not out of the question.
— Tom Collomosse, Evening Standard
90%! Danny Rose is officially 90%!
All joking aside, having Rose back would be a huge boon to a Spurs side that is firing on all cylinders right now, but who have also put a lot of miles on the tires of reserve left back Ben Davies.
As Collomosse says, it’s probably a little unreasonable to expect Rose to slot straight back into the starting lineup, but it would be pretty neat to see him come in for Davies as a late-match impact substitute.
The “magic number” for Spurs to finish ahead of Arsenal is currently eight points. Tottenham are on an eight game winning streak and have two tough road matches coming up against Crystal Palace and Leicester City ahead of the Arsenal match. The Gunners, meanwhile, host Manchester City and Leicester in that same stretch, and any points dropped would also affect this number.
EDIT: Never try and write schedule-related articles when jet-lagged. Spurs play Palace ahead of Arsenal on April 26; the Leicester match was postponed due to the FA Cup. Arsenal play Leicester on the same day Spurs play Palace.
Still, it’s not inconceivable that Spurs could go into the North London Derby with the knowledge that a win could forestall St. Totteringham’s Day for the first time in nearly 22 years. And Danny Rose might have a part of that. Wouldn’t THAT be something?