Tottenham winger Aaron Lennon is still struggling with a groin
injury and now faces a battle to prove his fitness before England
take on Egypt.
Lennon is expected to miss his side's Premier League trip to
Wigan at the weekend and may struggle to make the international
friendly against the Pharoahs at Wembley early next month.
Spurs boss Harry Redknapp was encouraged last week as Lennon
does not require an operation on his groin, commenting that "he's
running like Linford Christie", but the 22-year-old is still in the
rehabilitation stage of his comeback and has not yet joined in full
training with his first-team colleagues.
It is understood Lennon is not included in plans for the trip
to the DW Stadium on Sunday, when Redknapp's side face the team
they defeated 9-1 earlier in the season.
It means Lennon only has the FA Cup fifth-round replay
against Bolton the following Wednesday as a possible appearance
before Fabio Capello names his squad for the Egypt clash on March
3, England's final game before the domestic season ends and
attention turns to the World Cup.
Capello is scheduled to choose his squad the day before Spurs
face Everton, so Lennon could still feature and he will be
desperate to impress after catching the attention of the Italian
earlier in the campaign and playing in England's final three
qualifiers.
Since Lennon's injury, suffered in the victory over West Ham
at the end of December, Spurs have won just one league game and
have slipped out of the top four, although they remain in the FA
Cup.
They would have sealed a place in the quarter-finals of the
competition if Tom Huddlestone had converted a penalty against
Bolton at the weekend, the fourth time this season Spurs have
failed from the spot. It is understood players have practised
penalties on their return to training.
Meanwhile, according to reports in Ukraine, Redknapp has been
monitoring Shakhtar Donetsk's Croatia winger Darijo Srna.
