Tottenham Hotspur
Ledley King is a fantastic footballer. When fit, he’s a shoe-in for pretty much every England squad. He’s an outstanding centre-half, and a solid holding midfielder. But his knee is made of polystyrene.
It’s a genuine shame. One of the most talented defenders of his generation has missed a huge amount of football due to chronic knee problems, and has once again been forced to admit there is no timescale upon a possible return.
No wonder Spurs are fishing around Curtis Davies.
Martin Jol is sweating on the fitness of £10m signing Gareth Bale, after the Welshman limped out of his debut match against St. Patrick’s Athletic in Dublin.
Bale, who had impressed the Irish crowd with his set piece delivery, was replaced with nine minutes remaining, clutching his thigh as he departed.
Tottenham now face a nervous wait for the scan results - it was a lack of left-sided players that prompted Bale’s signing in the first place. A superficial blow would mean that he’d miss only a couple of days training, but even the slightest tear in the muscle fibres would force him to miss two or three weeks.
Spurs are as yet undeterred in their transfer dealings, and in Kevin-Prince Boateng have targetted a player whose injury problems are almost as bad as his name. At just 20 years old, Boateng has already undergone two major knee surgeries, and there’s even talk that he may struggle to pass a medical. More as and when we get it.
