Jermain Defoe is looking at things in a positive light after his hand injury ruled him out of England’s final World Cup qualifiers.
Defoe still managed to make an appearance as a substitute against Bolton on Saturday, but Fabio Capello didn’t deem him fit enough to take part in the dead rubber matches against Ukraine and Belarus.
Defoe has grabbed nine goals already this season, six in Spurs colours, with another three in the Three Lions of England.
But Jermain has taken a philosophical approach to his first injury set-back of the season.
He told Spurs’ Official Website, “I’ve always said any disappointment is a blessing, but since pre-season I’ve felt sharp and things have gone my way both at club level and international level, so I can’t really complain.
“I can have a rest, get myself focused and make sure that in my next game for the club I’m really firing again.”
Defoe picked up the injury against Burnley, when his shot rebounded off ‘keeper Brian Jensen and struck him on the hand, fracturing it as well as dislocating two fingers.
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“It was strange, I didn’t feel it at all. I had the shot – and I should have scored – the ‘keeper saved it and it came back and as it hit me, I ran away and didn’t feel it.
“I looked down and saw both fingers pointing the other way. That’s when I panicked.
“I was on the side of the pitch and I wanted to stay on so I asked Geoff Scott (physio) if he could crack them back into place, but I was in a lot of pain.
“People said to me ‘you must have been in a lot of pain’, but it’s strange, that only came afterwards. At the time I didn’t feel it.
“I can train, I can run and that’s what I’ve been doing at Spurs in the last few days. I’ve just got to be careful with contact. I thought it was only a dislocation, but I’ve got a fracture as well.
“It’s only normal to try and protect it so if I was to play, perhaps I wouldn’t go into the game 100 per cent. It’s unfortunate, but I’ll rest the fingers and hopefully get them right for the Portsmouth game.”
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