Injury Bug Bites Spurs Again, Ledley King Tears Hamstring

Ledley King is no stranger to injuries and Tottenham Hotspur are plenty used to playing without him, but his latest injury is going to be a real blow to the club as they threaten to crack the top four and maybe even challenge the top of the table. The Spurs center back pulled up lame in training on Friday and tore his hamstring, an injury that usually takes up to eight weeks to heal from.

"Ledley did his hamstring in training on Friday," Spurs manager Harry Redknapp said. "He came out, had an easy jog and it went. The only options I have got are Dawson, Bassong and Kaboul. There is no-one else."

Of those three available center backs, one is returned from a multi-month injury absence and the other is only barely trusted in Europa League matches, kind of. That doesn't exactly bode well for Spurs, who haven't been very secure at the back without their captain. Tottenham have allowed seven goals in 10 matches with King at the back without him versus 13 goals allowed in nine matches without him.

If King does miss eight weeks (working off a usual recovery time because nothing official has been said yet), he'll be out for a six-match stretch from late January to early March that includes Manchester City, Liverpool, Newcastle, Arsenal and Manchester United. This makes it almost a guarantee that Spurs will buy a center back in the January transfer window (at least as much of a guarantee as anything can be with Spurs). Luckily, it looks like Chelsea will wrap up Gary Cahill so Spurs cannot make that mistake, but there are plenty others out there