Spurs boss Harry Redknapp admits he is willing to gamble on the fitness of striker Jermain Defoe against Young Boys (12/1 in Match Betting) in the Champions League tonight, even though he might last only 45 minutes.
Defoe (10/3 – Two or More Goals) will miss England’s European Championship qualifiers against Bulgaria and Switzerland next month after Spurs (2/9) decided to book him in for groin surgery after the vital play-off with the Swiss club.
The striker has been dogged by the problem since the World Cup, fading out of Spurs’ season opener against Manchester City and lasting 66 minutes of the first leg in Switzerland before coming off.
He could be out for up to a month which would rule him out of Spurs’ Premier League matches against West Brom and Wolves – plus their first Champions League group game, should they progress.
“He’s not trained a lot,” Redknapp said.
“When he has trained, he’s been all right, he’s been sticking goals in. But then he’s had days off where he couldn’t train. And he’s getting worse, he’s getting worse all the time. Sixty minutes is about as much as he can last.
“It might only be half a game he can last now, but it’s getting less each time – the pain’s getting worse. He can’t go on like that.”
Luka Modric is out after failing to recover from a groin problem he suffered in the first leg, giving another chance to Jermaine Jenas.
However, Redknapp may decide to play Wilson Palacios with Tom Huddlestone in the middle and give another opportunity to Giovani Dos Santos on the right-hand side.
The Mexican, Robbie Keane and Roman Pavlyuchenko were all involved in light training on Wednesday morning and are ready to play a part.
Young Boys boss Vladimir Petkovic’s only injury absentees come in the form of defenders Emiliano Dudar and Hassan Lingani, both of whom did not feature in the first leg.
Defoe in Young Boys gamble
Defoe (10/3 – Two or More Goals) will miss England’s European Championship qualifiers against Bulgaria and Switzerland next month after Spurs (2/9) decided to book him in for groin surgery after the vital play-off with the Swiss club.
The striker has been dogged by the problem since the World Cup, fading out of Spurs’ season opener against Manchester City and lasting 66 minutes of the first leg in Switzerland before coming off.
He could be out for up to a month which would rule him out of Spurs’ Premier League matches against West Brom and Wolves – plus their first Champions League group game, should they progress.
“He’s not trained a lot,” Redknapp said.
“When he has trained, he’s been all right, he’s been sticking goals in. But then he’s had days off where he couldn’t train. And he’s getting worse, he’s getting worse all the time. Sixty minutes is about as much as he can last.
“It might only be half a game he can last now, but it’s getting less each time – the pain’s getting worse. He can’t go on like that.”
Luka Modric is out after failing to recover from a groin problem he suffered in the first leg, giving another chance to Jermaine Jenas.
However, Redknapp may decide to play Wilson Palacios with Tom Huddlestone in the middle and give another opportunity to Giovani Dos Santos on the right-hand side.
The Mexican, Robbie Keane and Roman Pavlyuchenko were all involved in light training on Wednesday morning and are ready to play a part.
Young Boys boss Vladimir Petkovic’s only injury absentees come in the form of defenders Emiliano Dudar and Hassan Lingani, both of whom did not feature in the first leg.
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