Gareth Bale will not face AC Milan in Tuesday’s Champions League last 16 first leg tie, having not travelled to Italy with the Tottenham Hotspur squad.
After initially ruling the Wales winger out of the game at the San Siro with a back problem, Spurs boss Harry Redknapp had seemed to hint he might be able to play some part.
However he took a different stance again on Sunday evening, instead just hoping to have Bale – who scored a hat-trick against Milan’s city rivals Inter in the 4-3 defeat at the same venue earlier this season – fit again for the second leg at White Hart Lane in two weeks’ time.
"I'd like to be able to scare Milan and say he's going to be available, but he's not," Redknapp told Sky Sports News.
"He's struggling to get over this back injury.
"The specialists don't see too much of a problem there. There's nothing that should keep him out too long. They looked at (Peter) Crouch's back and he has an epidural and Gareth had similar problems. Crouch's looked an awful lot worse.
"Gareth's has taken a little bit longer to heal. We've got to make sure he's right. He's a young lad and he's very important.
“He's got a great future in front of him. He doesn't feel he's ready to play. We leave it to him. At Sunderland he worked with the fitness coaches on Sunday morning and when they started to push him a bit he couldn't go on.
"We've got to take our time and make sure he's right when he comes back."
Spurs defeated Sunderland 2-1 on Saturday and go into the Milan game on the back of three straight league wins since their 4-0 FA Cup hiding at Fulham.