Defoe targets return in two months

Published Sep. 11, 2010 9:15 a.m. ET

foxsports

Defoe has been told he will miss around three months, and all of the Spurs' Champions League group games, after undergoing surgery to repair torn ankle ligaments. But the 27-year-old hopes his track record of being a quick healer will see him back on the field sooner. "When I did my metatarsal a couple of years ago, they said I'd be back after 10 weeks and I was back after six," he told the Daily Mirror. "People were joking that I must have some special blood and that I was not normal because I'd healed really quick. "Obviously I want to take my time with this because its ligaments and the ones that I have done take a long time to heal. But hopefully I could be back in about eight weeks. "I'm also lucky in that I'm 27 and I have only ever had two operations in my career. I'm religious, I don't smoke or drink and I look after my body so that should help me. I'll be fine." Defoe's lay-off came just days after he notched a first international hat-trick against Bulgaria. Reflecting on the timing, he added: "It's amazing how one minute you can be on a high, having scored my first hat-trick for England, reaching the Champions League group stages, then have your whole world come crashing down. Just like that. "But everything happens for a reason and I am part of a fantastic club and a fantastic squad. The boys are quality players who are more than capable to getting through to the knockout stages."