Van der Vaart out for 6 week, Honda 3 month

Tottenham Hotspur midfielder Rafael van der Vaart has been ruled out for six weeks after suffering a hamstring tear.

The Netherlands international suffered the injury in his left leg in last weekend's 5-1 home defeat by Manchester City. He has since been diagnosed with a hamstring tear after an MRI scan and is not expected to return until the middle of October.

That means Van der Vaart will at least be unavailable for Premier League games against Wolverhampton Wanderers, Liverpool, Wigan Athletic and the north London derby against Arsenal at White Hart Lane. He will also miss the start of Spurs' UEFA Europa League campaign, including meetings with PAOK Salonika and Shamrock Rovers.

HONDA 3 MONTH.
PFC CSKA Moskva could be without Keisuke Honda until early December because of a knee injury. Honda picked up the problem in Sunday's 2-2 Premier-Liga draw with FC Spartak Moskva and was forced off at half-time.

Subsequent scans have revealed the need for the Japanese international midfielder to undergo immediate surgery. The 25-year-old is therefore expected to be absent for two to three months.

The news comes as a further blow to CSKA, who will be without first-choice goalkeeper Igor Akinfeev for the entire UEFA Champions League group stage after he was recently ruled out for six months.

The Russian side start their campaign at LOSC Lille Métropole on 14 September having been drawn in Group B, which also contains FC Internazionale Milano and Trabzonsp



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