Rafael van der Vaart has been ruled out of Tottenham's trip to Blackpool on Tuesday night.
Tottenham's Dutch star has aggravated calf problem in training
Rafael van der Vaart has been ruled out of Tottenham's trip to Blackpool on Tuesday night.
The Dutch playmaker missed Spurs' last Premier League game with a calf problem but recovered enough to start last week's thrilling Champions League victory at AC Milan before making way for Luka Modric in the second half.
But manager Harry Redknapp has confirmed the Holland international has aggravated the injury in training and will not be risked at Bloomfield Road.
Van der Vaart has been ruled out with a series of niggling injuries this term and Redknapp believes he is suffering from not having a full pre-season.
The 28-year-old helped Holland reach the World Cup final last summer and on returning to Real Madrid was unsure where his future lay before signing for Spurs on deadline day.
"He did his calf again in training yesterday (Sunday) so he's struggling," Redknapp told
Sky Sports News.
"He's been having a problem with it. He missed a couple of games, came back and played in Milan. He got through 65 minutes there and then yesterday morning he felt it again. It didn't feel good.
Fantastic player
"It's a blow because he's a fantastic player. When he plays, he's been great for us. We need him but we just can't seem to get that run of games out of him.
"He's missed a pre-season and I think that's been a problem for him. He was away for the World Cup and missed getting that pre-season behind him, and he's picked up niggling injuries since then.
"But hopefully he won't be out too long. We've just got to wait and see again."
