Tottenham are facing a major injury crisis as they prepare to host Blackburn on Saturday.
Spurs could have an entire team ruled out through injury and be left with only one fit striker after a tough run of seven games in 25 days.
Tom Huddlestone (ankle), Roman Pavlyuchenko (back) and David Bentley (calf) are all doubtful after starting Tuesday’s 1-1 draw with Sunderland, while eight other players are definitely sidelined.
Robbie Keane (ankle), Aaron Lennon (hamstring) and Giovani dos Santos (groin) are still out, along with captain Ledley King (groin), Jermain Defoe, Michael Dawson (both ligament damage), Jamie O’Hara (back) and Jonathan Woodgate (groin).
Struggling
Assistant manager Kevin Bond said: “We’ve got 11 of our first-team squad out or probably not likely to be fit for the weekend so we’re struggling on the injury front at the moment.”
Pavlyuchenko has been undergoing acupuncture in a bid to be fit but if the Russia international fails to make it then Peter Crouch would be Tottenham’s only fit striker.
The England man has scored only one goal in his last 11 appearances but would renew what has been a productive partnership with Rafael van der Vaart, who has scored seven goals in 11 games for Spurs since signing from Real Madrid.
And the Dutch star has also had injury problems as he has been suffering from tightness in his hamstrings due to not having a proper pre-season.
“We are trying to work on it but it’s very difficult because, at the moment, we’re playing two games a week,” Bond said.
Free week
“We need a free week to get on the training ground and do some extra work.
“Hopefully, we think, the games themselves will bring him on a bit as well.
“[Crouch] is going through one of those periods where he’s not scoring himself but I think nearly every goal that Rafa scores comes off a Peter Crouch assist,” added Harry Redknapp’s No.2.
“Obviously, from a confidence point of view, every goalscorer needs goals.
“If one goes in off his backside at Tooting, I think maybe you’d see a different Peter Crouch and hopefully we’ll see a few more goals from him.”
Tottenham are enjoying a memorable debut season in the UEFA Champions League, beating holders Inter Milan last week, but they are struggling to cope with the demands of challenging on two fronts.
The Inter victory was followed by a 4-2 defeat at Bolton last Saturday and after their midweek draw with Sunderland, Spurs have taken just two points from their last 12 in the Premier League.
“I think it’s physical and it’s mental,” said Bond.
“You can argue you can freshen it up but we did that last week and it didn’t really work for us. It’s a work-in-progress situation.
“The Blackburn game is vitally important,” he added.
“We’ve had a little spell when we haven’t got the results we’d have wanted.
“We know we’ve got a difficult run of games coming up but it’s no good looking at them: we have to beat Blackburn first.”
