AVB plays down injury fears

Andre Villas-Boas played down fears of an injury crisis at Tottenham Hotspur even though three of his players went off in the 3-0 win over Tromso.

Villas-Boas had accused the Football League of putting his players' careers in danger with their scheduling of the League Cup, but it was the low-key European clash against the Norwegian Group K minnow that claimed three injury victims on Thursday night (Friday AEST).


Danny Rose pulled up with an ankle injury in the first half, Mousa Dembele had to be carried off on a stretcher after being kicked from behind and Younes Kaboul hobbled off five minutes from time with an adductor problem.

The Tottenham boss expects Kaboul and Dembele to be fit for Sunday's game at Cardiff, and although Rose needs a scan on his ankle, Villas-Boas expects the left-back's injury to be minor.
"Dembele should be okay," Villas-Boas said.

"He felt a lot of pain when he was brought down, but now he's steady.
"Younes felt muscle tightness in his adductor and we decided to take him off. He was struggling but he didn't rupture anything.

"We have to be a little bit more careful with Danny Rose. We hope it's not serious.
"We have to give him one night to see the reaction of his ankle. He is in doubt for Sunday but he should be okay."