Jermaine Defoe to have surgery & Jonathan Woodgate looking for a last chance
Tottenham Hotspur striker, Jermaine Defoe has been sidelined for at least 2 weeks. The English international had been suffering from a groin injury and now has been forced to get it operated.
Defoe will undergo the surgery next week; he had been struggling from the injury since the World Cup. Tottenham manager Harry Redknapp said that his striker has been delaying the surgery and, now he may be out of action for at least 2 weeks. Redknapp said that the layoff may be prolonged to a month if needed.
Jermaine Defoe will miss Spurs matches against West Brom and Wolves. He will also not be able to play for England for their Euro qualifiers on the, 3rd & 7th, of September.
Defoe was scheduled to have the procedure last Thursday. The German doctor who was supposed to operate on him could not fit him in. Defoe was not part of Spurs team in Saturday’s Premier League game against Stoke City, but may play some part in the Champions’ League return leg at home against Young Boys.
Spurs manager Redknapp said that, till he is not operated he can still play but not without restrictions. He added that he has not been training regularly, but when he does he looks good and scores goals. The manager said that there have been times when Defoe was taken off the pitch because of the pain in his groin. So it may be a risk, but since he is scheduled to go for surgery he may decide to make himself available. Redknapp said he may be used from the bench as an impact player, because the 2nd leg against Young Boys is very important, and Spurs do have a goal deficit.
Harry said that it all depends on how he feels before the match. The manager went on to say that he may even decide to give Defoe a start, but he may last for just 60 minutes or so.
Jermaine Defoe has been a regular goal scorer for Tottenham, and even when he was sold by Spurs to Portsmouth he still was a regular on the score sheet. Defoe was signed back to Spurs when Redknapp took over the club. The English striker has not scored for Spurs in Europe or in the domestic league, this season. Redknapp said that he has not been fully fit and once he is back after the operation, he will once again be among goals.
Meanwhile there are other worries for the Spurs manager. He said that his injury prone defender Jonathan Woodgate may be on the verge of ending his career. He said that Woodgate is going through a last gasp effort to revive his career and get rid of his injury.
Woodgate made his Premier League debut with Leeds as an 18 year old. He did make quite an impression when Leeds made it to the Champions’ League. He was bought by Real Madrid but his injury problems followed him there and he stayed out of action for more than a year. He moved to Middlesbrough after that. The England defender also made it back in the national team and it looked as if he had gotten over his fitness problems. Tottenham quickly moved in and signed the centre back. Little did they know, before even completing one season he was once again plagued with injury and now has been out of action since November last year.
Harry Redknapp said that Woodgate is going to USA for a surgery, and if that does not solve his problems then he may have to consider hanging his boots for good.
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