Gareth Bale is “very doubtful” for Spurs game against Chelsea. Emmanuel Adebayor has a foot problem but is expected to play. John Terry and Ramires are passed fit for the clash, while Jamie O’Hara is sidelined for up to six weeks after undergoing hernia surgery:
Andre Villas-Boas had some positive news on the injury front in this afternoon’s press conference. Both John Terry and Ramires are available for tomorrow night’s trip to Spurs, though David Luiz has been ruled out, having failed to recover from a knee problem.
Chelsea have also this afternoon confirmed their Boxing Day clash with Fulham will take place at the scheduled time of 1pm. The game had been under review due to the proposed industrial strike on the London Underground but after consideration, the club have made the decision to go ahead as planned.
Harry Redknapp’s Press Conference was a little more pessimistic in terms of injury news. Although the Spurs boss admitted Aaron Lennon’s hamstring problem is not as bad as first feared, he has concerns over the availability of key players ahead of the Chelsea game, with Gareth Bale the main concern:
Gareth’s struggling at the moment. He hasn’t been able to train. He’s very doubtful. It normally takes six or seven days for Ledley’s knee to go down, so we’ll have to wait and see how it is today and tomorrow. He’ll be 50-50 at best I would imagine. Jermain, again, has a bit of a hamstring. He thinks he’s got a chance, but the physio isn’t keen on him taking a chance. Ade’s got a foot problem, we’ll see how he is. He can’t train today, but we’re hopeful. He doesn’t miss too many games.
Jamie O’Hara is set to miss the next 4-6 weeks after undergoing double hernia surgery. The midfielder was sidelined for the weekend home game against Stoke with a calf injury but the club’s official website revealed today that O’Hara has been bothered with a hernia problem for some time and the decision has been made to operate, thus ensuring he is 100% fit for the rest of the campaign.
Johan Djourou and Kieran Gibbs are both out of Arsenal’s trip to Aston Villa this evening. Arsene Wenger had expected the latter to be available but Gibbs has suffered a setback, meaning either Thomas Vermaelen or Ignasi Miquel could start at left-back. Djourou’s absence means Laurent Koscielny is likely to be fielded at right-back, with Bacary Sagna and Carl Jenkinson still both sidelined.
