News came in this week that Jermain Defoe's injury is worse than first expected. The England and Tottenham Hotspur striker will miss the next three months of action because of the ankle injury he suffered in Switzerland on Tuesday night on international duty.
This is a blow for England, for whom Defoe scored a hat-trick in the team's first Euro 2012 qualifier, and for Tottenham.
In fact, the timing for Spurs couldn't be worse: just before the club plays its first UEFA Champions League game ever. In this context, the signing of Rafael Van der Vaart for €10 million now seems even more inspired.
In the Dutchman's first match for the club, he played in 'the hole' behind lone striker Roman Pavlyuchenko and claimed a skilful assist for Luka Modric to open the scoring at West Bromwich Albion. Van der Vaart would also play Gareth Bale through on goal later in the half.
Despite his influence, he could not inspire Spurs to win as the game ended 1-1.
Without Defoe, manager Harry Redknapp will rely heavily on Peter Crouch. The tall striker with an excellent international goal record and considerable experience of playing in the Champions League will be expected to be in the right place to convert the play of the Bale, Modric and Van der Vaart triumvirate into goals.
It is a chance for Crouch not only to lead the line and become a figurehead for his club, but also to give England manager Fabio Capello no choice but to start him when the qualifying campaign re-starts next month. After a serious injury to Bobby Zamora, Crouch is in a strong position to put his off-field worries behind him and reach the peak of his career in style.
Who knows...we may even see the robot dance make an another! appearance...
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