Jenas: I rushed comeback
Tottenham midfielder Jermaine Jenas has admitted rushing back from his recent calf injury after suffering a recurrence of the problem.
Jenas limped out of last Tuesday’s Champions League match at FC Twente just 34 minutes into his comeback, having already spent two weeks on the sidelines.
The 27-year-old missed Sunday’s 1-1 draw against Chelsea in the Barclays Premier League and will also sit out this weekend’s trip to Blackpool.
And Jenas is determined not to make the same mistake as last week by coming back before time.
“I’ve been running for the last three or four days,” he told Sky Sports News.
“The problem before was that I probably rushed it a bit too much.
“The squad had been pretty stretched over a busy period so I was hoping I could help out but pushed it a bit too far.”
Of his prospect of being fit for the Blackpool game on Sunday, he added: “I don’t know. I think it might be a game too soon. Hopefully it will get called off, then I will have another week.”
Another player who has had his injury troubles of late is summer signing Rafael van der Vaart, who has been out for almost three weeks with a hamstring problem.
The Holland midfielder has made a stunning impact on the field since joining from Real Madrid and Jenas revealed he had also made the right impression off it.
“It’s surprising how well he has fitted into the group. It’s like he’s been here three, four, five years. He is a top lad as well,” Jenas said.
“In terms of his performances, what he has done speaks for itself. The experience he brings from playing in international football and in European football has really helped us, especially at some stages of the Champions League.
“He gives us something different. We have got out and out pace on the wings with (Gareth) Bale and (Aaron) Lennon.
“Rafa can play from the right sometimes and drift in or he can play off the front and link between the midfield and forwards, so he does give us something different.”
