Thomas Frank has defended Micky van de Ven after the Tottenham defender was criticised by Arne Slot for his challenge on Alexander Isak.

Isak has undergone surgery on a broken leg, which he sustained during Liverpool's 2-1 win over Tottenham on Saturday under a challenge from Van de Ven.

Van de Ven caught Isak when attempting to block the striker's shot, which ended in the back of the net, with the Swede's leg buckling under the weight of the challenge.

Slot labelled the tackle "reckless" when speaking to reporters on Tuesday and said it would lead to a serious injury 10 times out of 10.

Asked for his response to those comments at his own press conference, however, Frank disagreed and said Van de Ven had every right to make the tackle. 

"Obviously I am disagreeing [with Slot]," Frank said. "In many ways, we're talking about a defender that'll do everything to avoid conceding a goal. 

"It's a transition so he is sprinting back in. There's a ball slid down the side and he does everything he can to block that shot.

"Unfortunately, Isak has planted his foot straight there, which makes it look worse than it is. That would be a natural reaction for any defender.

"Or, put it this way, if my defender doesn't do that, I don't think they are true defenders. I don’t see that at all. 

"I think reckless challenges, normally, you haven't seen any from Micky, as I remember it. I see him as a very fair and competitive player. 

"That's one thing. I also know the two players have sorted it out, so that's a good sign."

Van de Ven avoided any sort of card for the challenge, but Xavi Simons was sent off earlier in the game and Cristian Romero also saw red late on.

Simons was dismissed after a VAR check showed the attacking midfielder raking his studs down the calf of Netherlands team-mate Virgil van Dijk.

Despite a yellow card initially being shown before referee John Brooks upgraded it to a red, Frank confirmed Spurs do not intend to appeal.

"I would like to do it," he said. "But it doesn't make sense because of the way the rules are. 

"We won't get anything out of it, I've been told. That is the way it is."

Tottenham are 14th in the Premier League after their defeat to Liverpool and Frank will be eager for a response against Crystal Palace on Sunday.

"We enforce good messages, good habits and then how can you install that in training, but we haven't been able to train that much," he said. 

"We keep talking about it before, during and after games – that's a big part of it. Overall, the team did well against Liverpool. 

"After watching the game back, I was super happy with the first 30 minutes, which is really good, promising."