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By James Dall Last updated: 5th September 2010
Dawson: Sidelined until late October
Tottenham Hotspur have announced that defender Michael Dawson will be sidelined for six to eight weeks with the injury he sustained on international duty with England.
The centre-back fell awkwardly in the second half of the 4-0 Euro 2012 qualifying victory over Bulgaria on Friday night, and on Saturday it was confirmed he had returned to Spurs for treatment.
Tottenham have now revealed that Dawson 'sprained his left medial knee ligament and one of his left ankle ligaments'.
The stopper has played in all three of Spurs' Premier League matches this season, and news of his absence will be a blow to club manager Harry Redknapp.
But the injury is not as bad as first feared, with the freak incident at first appearing similar to that which saw Michael Owen sidelined for almost a year during the 2006 World Cup.
Dawson will now be expected to return to first-team football at the end of next month, meaning he could be in contention for the Premier League trip to Manchester United on 30th October.
Redknapp will view the injury as a cruel piece of timing after the transfer window closed on Tuesday, when the Spurs boss opted to buy Rafael van der Vaart rather than an additional centre-back to accompany the earlier arrival of William Gallas.
Tottenham club captain Ledley King has suffered through chronic and much-publicised knee problems throughout his career and remains a constant fitness concern.
Fellow defender Jonathan Woodgate has been left out of Redknapp's 25-man Premier League squad for the first half of the season as the former Real Madrid man is set to undergo another groin operation in a bid to save his career.
| Time | Fixture |
|---|---|
| Saturday 11th February | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| 12:45 | Man Utd vs Liverpool |
| 15:00 | Blackburn vs QPR |
| 15:00 | Bolton vs Wigan |
| 15:00 | Everton vs Chelsea |
| 15:00 | Fulham vs Stoke |
| 15:00 | Sunderland vs Arsenal |
| 15:00 | Swansea vs Norwich |
| 17:30 | Tottenham vs Newcastle |
| Sunday 12th February | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| 13:30 | Wolverhampton vs West Brom |
| 16:00 | Aston Villa vs Man City |
| Saturday 25th February | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| 15:00 | Chelsea vs Bolton |
| 15:00 | Newcastle vs Wolverhampton |
| 15:00 | QPR vs Fulham |
| 15:00 | West Brom vs Sunderland |
| 15:00 | Wigan vs Aston Villa |
| 17:30 | Man City vs Blackburn |
| Sunday 26th February | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| 13:30 | Arsenal vs Tottenham |
| 13:30 | Norwich vs Man Utd |
| 15:00 | Stoke vs Swansea |
| Saturday 3rd March | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| 12:45 | Liverpool vs Arsenal |
| Time | Result |
|---|---|
| Monday 6th February | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| Liverpool 0 - 0 Tottenham | |
| Sunday 5th February | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| Newcastle 2 - 1 Aston Villa | |
| Chelsea 3 - 3 Man Utd | |
| Saturday 4th February | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| Arsenal 7 - 1 Blackburn | |
| West Brom 1 - 2 Swansea | |
| QPR 1 - 2 Wolverhampton | |
| Norwich 2 - 0 Bolton | |
| Stoke 0 - 1 Sunderland | |
| Wigan 1 - 1 Everton | |
| Man City 3 - 0 Fulham | |
| Wednesday 1st February | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| Aston Villa 2 - 2 QPR | |
| Fulham 1 - 1 West Brom | |
| Blackburn 0 - 2 Newcastle | |
| Bolton 0 - 0 Arsenal | |
| Sunderland 3 - 0 Norwich | |
| Tuesday 31st January | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| Swansea 1 - 1 Chelsea | |
| Tottenham 3 - 1 Wigan | |
| Man Utd 2 - 0 Stoke | |
| Wolverhampton 0 - 3 Liverpool | |
| Everton 1 - 0 Man City | |
| Pos | Team | P | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Manchester City | 24 | 57 |
| 2 | Manchester United | 24 | 55 |
| 3 | Tottenham Hotspur | 24 | 50 |
| 4 | Chelsea | 24 | 43 |
| 5 | Newcastle United | 24 | 42 |
| 6 | Arsenal | 24 | 40 |
| 7 | Liverpool | 24 | 39 |
| 8 | Sunderland | 24 | 33 |
| 9 | Norwich City | 24 | 32 |
| 10 | Swansea City | 24 | 30 |
| 11 | Everton | 24 | 30 |
| 12 | Stoke City | 24 | 30 |
| 13 | Aston Villa | 24 | 28 |
| 14 | Fulham | 24 | 27 |
| 15 | West Bromwich Albion | 24 | 26 |
| 16 | Queens Park Rangers | 24 | 21 |
| 17 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | 24 | 21 |
| 18 | Bolton Wanderers | 24 | 20 |
| 19 | Blackburn Rovers | 24 | 18 |
| 20 | Wigan Athletic | 24 | 16 |
Fabio may be gone, but Jeff Stelling and the boys will be here as always to bring you all the scores.
Man United host Liverpool on Saturday lunchtime in a derby clash that whets the appetite.
Matty Briggs runs through the weekend statistics and selects a 2/1 Value Bet in our Numbers Game.
Sir Alex Ferguson has given his backing to Man Utd's doctors after Owen Hargreaves hit out at the treatment he received at Old Trafford.
Man Utd put their 100 per cent record on the line, while Man City, Arsenal, Chelsea and Liverpool will be hoping for home comforts.
Owen Hargreaves has claimed he felt like a 'guinea pig' while having treatment on his knee problems during his time at Manchester United.
Man Utd's Javier Hernandez is available to face Stoke, while Rio Ferdinand will also hopefully feature.
Darren Bent has denied being critical of Aston Villa manager Alex McLeish following a "rather false article".
Comments (15)
Tony Tucker (Tottenham Hotspur fan) says...
Although Dawson will be missed, Spurs have plenty of very good CBs despite Dawson''s injury, and the unavailability of Woodgate. King played Wednesday / Saturday last week. Bassong is a very decent CB when given a run in the side. Gallas would probably first choice to play on the right side of the CB pairing with King anyway. Plus Kaboul and Walker both show massive potential. And as others have mentioned, Corluka and Huddlestone (and I believe Sandro as well) can all play there in freak emergencies. Not forgetting Caulker who is the future and on a season long loan at Leeds.
Posted 21:03 4th September 2010
Rob G says...
Spurs fan here. Yeh i''m gutted Dawson got injured but the better your squad players get they will get chosen for their country. Yes he is a key player butr i feel spurs have a big enough squad now to cope with this. If the team wants to step up to the next level we can''t solely depend on just a few key players it''s the whole squad we need to perform and with Harry at the helm i think we could have a good run in the champions league and the premier league also. Saying that though i hope he isn''t out to long get well soon Dawson
Posted 21:00 4th September 2010
Garry Foster (Plymouth Argyle fan) says...
was gutted to see him go down like that in the match looked a lot worse than it seems to have been i thaught it was ligament tear and 6-8 months out but glad its not gonna be long before hes back as he did a good effort with jags as centre halfs.
Posted 20:49 4th September 2010
Subhaan Ali (Manchester United fan) says...
respect m.dawson he hurt himself for england that is what matters
Posted 20:36 4th September 2010
Mark W (Luton Town fan) says...
I''m afraid some of the comments are very naive. Qualification for the major football tournaments ie World Cup and European Championship take place over 2 years. Various dates are chosen both for the matches and friendlies. For most players it is their greatest ambition to play for their country. Sadly injuries do occur while playing for their country. In the case of Dawson, it was not a malicious challenge. I''m sure most sports fans, as well as Spurs fans, wish him a speedy recovery.
Posted 19:46 4th September 2010
Malcolm Clixby (Tottenham Hotspur fan) says...
it is a blow for spurs , but will this give spurs a chance to be more attacking , what i mean is put huddlestone cb spraying perfect passes with gallas which he has proved before he can do , then across the middle you have bale, modders, van der vaart and lennon wowwwww harry wanted attacking football he has it with the COYS!!!!!!
Posted 19:31 4th September 2010
Paul Bayliss says...
Its unfortunate for the guy but thats football every team that wants to be successful gives their best up for internationals but it could just as easy happened in training. It does give Capello the chance to put the best english central defence pairing back together again: Jags and Lescott and by the looks of his limited experience available the most capped pairing. Is he brave enough???
Posted 19:10 4th September 2010
Keith Peters (Arsenal fan) says...
Firstly I''ll just say I hate to see injuries to key players of any team. Being an Arsenal fan, I know that they cost valuable points in the league. I''ve no doubt we''d have won something in the last 5 years if our squad was fit. it''s a bitter pill to swallow when the injury occurs when they''re not even playing for the club that pays their wages and trains them. Now Spurs knows what it''s like to lose an important player, with important champions league games coming up. like we have so many times with Van Persie and others. I never see the point of international games. The last world cup was a case in point that international football is a poor, boring waste of time.
Posted 18:48 4th September 2010
Toby Hunt (Fulham fan) says...
Some of you Tottenham fans need to get over it. One minute your chanting Dawson for England, then when he plays and gets injured you wish he didn''t. You''ve got plenty of cover Kaboul, Gallas, Bassong, Corluka, and King (when fit/chosen). Not to mention Mr Huddlestone could play there and I think he has on some occassions. This game was not a nothing game, it was a qualifier!
Posted 18:42 4th September 2010
Aonghus Van raalte (Tottenham Hotspur fan) says...
Great, hes injured playing for England. why cant england just select some other player, now he is injured for tottenham games
Posted 18:10 4th September 2010
Don. (tottenham fan) Murray says...
It is a big blow to Spurs but it is a fact of life that if you have quality players they will be picked for their country and that sometimes, unfortunately, they are injured. The match was a qualifier for a tournament that England have to qualify for. If it was a meaningless friendly I would agree absolutely. But how exactly could England have protected Dawson from his injury?
Posted 17:47 4th September 2010
Not my Real name (Tottenham Hotspur fan) says...
Get well soon Daws. Hope Kaboul can now step up in his favoured position, and that Gallas is match fit soon.
Posted 17:33 4th September 2010
Bruno Monta (Tottenham Hotspur fan) says...
A massive blow for us!! And no way he will he be back in 2 months time after those two really bad injuries. I doubt we will see him back before January 2011, if not much later. Gutted!!
Posted 17:22 4th September 2010
Scott Newsham (Manchester City fan) says...
Feel sorry for the lad, but luckily its not as bad as it looked. He will soon be back up and running. Why not save Internationals till the end of the season so the summers not so boring?
Posted 17:21 4th September 2010
Jeff B (Tottenham Hotspur fan) says...
I am absolutely fuming that international football can be planned in barely a fortnight into the new Premier league season and as a result Spurs have lost without doubt one of our most important players for 2 months, all because of a match that few people really care about!!! I just wonder if the FA and Premier League will allow Spurs special dispensation to sign another center-back, even if just on loan until Daws is back??? Ha ha, I know, what a joke, never going to happen.... I get sick of players not getting protected while on England duty, and I mean from all teams, not just Spurs... Needs looking at, big time...
Posted 17:02 4th September 2010