Injury blow for England striker Defoe

Oct 1, 2009, 11:24 GMT

London - Tottenham Hotspur and England striker Jermain Defoe will miss Saturday's Premier League game at Bolton Wanderers with a hand injury, it emerged Thursday.

The forward was forced off 57 minutes into last Saturday's 5-0 win over Burnley, and could be a doubt for England's forthcoming World Cup qualifiers against Ukraine and Belarus.

'He is struggling,' said Spurs manager Harry Redknapp. 'Jermain dislocated two fingers against Burnley last Saturday and they couldn't get them back in.

'But he has also fractured his hand. He spent all Saturday night in hospital and is struggling.

'Hopefully, he'll be OK for England but we'll have to wait and see.'

The injury means Peter Crouch is likely to start for Spurs alongside Robbie Keane, who scored four against Burnley.

'Peter will get the opportunity to play plenty of games this year,' said Redknapp. 'Next is away to Bolton - a big strong team.

'Set plays, we have got to be prepared for that. Last week we went with a small team, next week I will probably pick a bigger team.'