Tottenham Hotspur boss says Rafael van der Vaart must improve fitness levels
Tottenham Hotspur boss Harry Redknapp says that Rafael van der Vaart must improve his fitness levels if he is to become an unstoppable force at the English Premier League club.
The Holland international joined the White Hart Lane side from Real Madrid on transfer deadline day for a fee of eight million pounds. So far, that deal looks to have been a bargain as he has already netted five goals in eight EPL games as well as two in three
UEFA Champions League matches.
However, Redknapp believes that the 27-year-old hasn’t yet adapted to the rigours of plying his trade in England and, as a result, the attacking midfielder tends to run out of energy before full-time.
Redknapp told the Daily Telegraph that: "He’s a fantastic player but he does just run out of steam a little bit at the moment still. He’s got to get fitter and adapt to playing 90 minutes in the Premier League. Against Sunderland, he got tired and disappeared
a bit in the second-half."
Van der Vaart suffered a hamstring strain in the 1-1 draw with Sunderland on Tuesday 9 November, but has recovered and is set to make it into the starting XI for the match against Blackburn Rovers at home on Saturday 13 November.
11 first-team players on injury list
Meanwhile, 11 first-team players are set to miss the clash against Blackburn through injury.
David Bentley, Roman Pavlyuchenko and Tom Huddlestone are all rated as doubtful for the game after picking up injuries in the Sunderland game.
Assistant manager Kevin Bond told the club’s official website that: “They are all struggling. We'll have to wait until Saturday to see how they all are. We've got a long injury list at the moment, 11 of the first-team squad either out or unlikely to be fit
for the weekend. We're struggling on the injury front at the moment."
Aaron Lennon and Robbie Keane have missed the last two games, while Michael Dawson, Ledley King, Jermain Defoe, Giovani dos Santos, Jamie O'Hara and Jonathan Woodgate are all long-term absentees.
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