Tottenham striker Defoe ruled out for three months
Friday, September 10, 2010
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Jermain Defoe is set to miss the whole of Tottenham Hotspur FC's Group A campaign after being ruled out for three months with ankle ligament damage suffered while on England duty.
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Tottenham Hotspur FC striker Jermain Defoe looks set to miss the whole of their UEFA Champions League group stage debut, as well as England's next UEFA EURO 2012 qualifier, after being ruled out for three months following ankle surgery.
Defoe left the pitch on a stretcher 71 minutes into England's 3-1 win in Switzerland on Tuesday. A Tottenham statement on Friday read: "Following a review by an ankle specialist, Jermain Defoe underwent surgery to repair torn ligaments in his right ankle yesterday evening. [He] has been ruled out of action for around three months."
That would almost certainly leave Spurs without the 27-year-old for their Group A campaign, which begins at SV Werder Bremen on Tuesday and also involves FC Twente and holders FC Internazionale Milano. Central defender Michael Dawson is likely to miss half those fixtures after being sidelined for six to eight weeks by knee ligament damage suffered in England's 4-0 defeat of Bulgaria on Friday.
Defoe scored a hat-trick in that game having postponed groin surgery to play in the UEFA EURO 2012 qualifying Group G openers. Like Dawson, he will now be absent when England play Montenegro on 12 October.
