Tottenham Hotspur midfielder Rafael van der Vaart to miss Champions League visit of Inter

The Dutch midfielder has scored five goals in nine games since his £8 million signing from Real Madrid and his injury is the latest blow to manager Harry Redknapp’s hopes of securing a crucial victory against Rafael Benítez’s team at White Hart Lane. Goalkeeper Heurelho Gomes is suspended and injuries rule out Michael Dawson, Ledley King and Jermain Defoe.

“The problem is I’ve probably got five of our very best players missing,” Redknapp said. “The goalkeeper is out, he is suspended, my two centre-halves are out, and there is also Van der Vaart and Defoe. They are key players right down the middle of the team, so it’s going to be very difficult.

“Van der Vaart is quality, but I think he just got a bit tired and that’s when you get injuries. He hasn’t really had many 90 minutes under his belt. At the World Cup [for Holland], he wasn’t playing 90 minutes and when you get to that last 25 minutes and go a bit further than you normally go, that’s when something can go wrong.”

Spurs fought back from 4-0 down with 10 men to lose 4-3 away two weeks ago and Redknapp insists they can beat Inter if the threat of Wesley Sneijder and Samuel Eto’o is nullified. “We know that we can cause them problems in certain areas, but they are dangerous with Sneijder and Eto’o up front,” he said.

“I saw them last year when they knocked Chelsea out and were excellent, but it’ll be a great atmosphere at White Hart Lane and it’s a game we’ve got a big chance in.

“It’s a massive game because I think Werder Bremen could beat Twente [Enschede], so we’ve got to get something out of this game.”

Manchester United have confirmed that their trip to Turkey on Monday for Tuesday's clash with Bursaspor will go ahead as planned, despite Sunday’s suicide bomb in a tourist area of Istanbul.

United are due to fly directly to Bursa, Turkey’s fourth largest city, which is 65 miles from Istanbul.