Defoe in contention to face Arsenal in derby
Reuters - Friday 01 March 2013, 14:57
Tottenham Hotspur forward Jermain Defoe is back in
contention for the North London derby against Arsenal on Sunday after
recovering from an ankle injury.
Defoe
has been sidelined for a month after hobbling off against West Bromwich
Albion, since when his side have risen above Chelsea to third place in
the Premier League thanks to an incredible burst of scoring by Wales
winger Gareth Bale.
Victory
over Arsenal at White Hart Lane would put Tottenham seven points clear
of their neighbours in the race for Champions League qualification with
10 games remaining and the return of England striker Defoe would be a
huge boost.
"Jermain trained
with the team the last two days and so hopefully he will be available
for selection if he trains again tomorrow," manager Andre Villas-Boas
told reporters at the club's training ground.
"He's definitely a contender for the game."
Defoe
enjoyed a superb first half to the season, scoring 10 league goals, but
Tottenham have recently been reliant on the goals of Bale who grabbed
another two in a 3-2 victory over West Ham United on Monday to take his
league tally for the season to 15.
Eight
goals in his last six matches in all competitions has inevitably led to
suggestions that Bale will be sought by Real Madrid or Barcelona at the
end of the season but Villas-Boas said he could achieve his ambitions
in England.
"For a player to
develop to his full potential it can happen in this league because it's
the best in the world and Gareth has that in mind," Villas-Boas said.
"We
want to keep our biggest assets to achieve our objectives. This season
it's to reach the Champions League and next season you never know what
team we can build if we achieve that."
NO BALE PLANS
Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger said he was making no special provisions to stop Bale.
"We don't plan for anybody," the Frenchman explained. "He is not a subject of our worries for the next two or three days.
"We
just want to prepare. We have great players in our team and it would be
a complete mistake to focus on any player from Tottenham."
After
a mediocre start under Villas-Boas, who was sacked a year ago by
Chelsea, Tottenham have lost just once in the league since a 5-2
hammering by Arsenal in mid-November, a run that has put the club in a
strong position to claim a top-four finish.
However,
they were also poised to finish above Arsenal last season before
another 5-2 defeat signalled a slump that meant they ended up fourth,
missing out on the Champions League as Chelsea went on to lift the
European crown despite finishing sixth in the table.
Villas-Boas said the result of Sunday's game at White Hart Lane would not necessarily prove decisive.
"It
won't be decided this weekend, even seven points is still recoverable
for a team like Arsenal," he said. "It's very tight bearing in mind the
amount of games there are still to be played.
"But
we know the importance of the fixture and how it can impact the mood of
both clubs. There is a pressure on both sides for this game. It will be
a special one."
Victory for
Tottenham would also put them two points behind second-placed Manchester
City, who play on Monday at Aston Villa, and Villas-Boas said his side
could still target the runners-up spot behind runaway leaders Manchester
United.
"It's difficult
because City have the experience of winning the league [last year] but
they have to come to White Hart Lane and if we receive them still within
a margin of five points then we can be a threat to them," he said.
"But our focus is on the gaps to the teams behind us more than anything else."
Villas-Boas
also confirmed that Younes Kaboul was still at least two weeks away
from a near season-long absence because of knee trouble.