It was Van de Ven's first start since January as he helped Spurs to a 3-1 win, so reaching the quarterfinals 3-2 on aggregate.
"It's been really difficult, it has been a long time," he said.
"My first (injury) happened against City and then against Chelsea a re-injury and afterwards some little problems. It was really tough but I’m really happy to be back and just make sure I’m staying fit now for the rest of the season.
"I'm really excited and happy to be back. I came through the 60 minutes feeling well.
"I feel good so hopefully I can build up from this."
On the victory, Van de Ven also said: "I think we played a really good game overall.
"Of course a difficult game because we were 1-0 behind so we had to change it around. I think from the first minute as a team we showed we really wanted to turn it around in 90 minutes and the team did an unbelievable job.
"We all have the trust in the gaffer and the team. It has been a really difficult season for us of course but we showed our mentality tonight and hopefully we can build on this and into the next round.
"I trust in the team and everybody has trust. We’re out of the Carabao and FA Cup, Premier League it’s been a difficult season. So of course this is a competition we can definitely win.
"I don’t want to look too far ahead but we can do a good job. I know I have trust in this team and in the gaffer, so hopefully we can do something special."