Tottenham held to draw at West Brom

Published Sep. 11, 2010 6:41 p.m. ET

foxsports

Tottenham was made to a settle for a 1-1 draw at promoted West Bromwich Albion in the Premier League on Saturday as a rash of injuries took its toll on the London club.

Playmaker Luka Modric pounced on a loose ball inside the area to put Tottenham ahead in the 27th minute before limping off a few minutes later and being replaced by Niko Kranjcar.

''He is going for a scan but he broke the bone in his leg last year against Birmingham and he got a kick on the same spot today,'' Spuds manager Harry Redknapp said. ''He is in a lot of pain today. It doesn't look great. We will wait and see what the scan says but it certainly doesn't look very good.

''We don't know yet if the leg is broken again. If he has got another break, you are talking months again. I am just hoping it is good news for a change. Defoe has had the ankle operation and he is out for 12 weeks and Dawson is another one.''

Spurs, already missing striker Jermain Defoe and defender Michael Dawson due to injuries picked up on England duty, then saw their lead evaporate in the 41st minute when West Brom's Chris Brunt struck with a close-range header.

Tottenham gave a debut to former Arsenal defender William Gallas and attacking midfielder Rafael van der Vaart.

Harry Redknapp's side dominated the first half, with Gareth Bale causing constant problems down the left flank. But they lacked the killer instinct in front of goal and appeared to miss the influence of Defoe, who will be out for three months with an ankle injury.

''In the first half, we had so much possession and looked very comfortable. The goal just before halftime brought them back into the game,'' Redknapp said. ''Credit to them, they got stronger as the game went on. I thought we tired. Van der Vaart ran out of steam. I thought he was different class in the first half.

''Modric and Van der Vaart playing together is going to be clever and you'd think Defoe would feed off them in the long term.''

Baggies boss Roberto Di Matteo was happy with his team's battling performance.

''At this moment, we are disappointed not to have won the game given the chances we created in the second half,'' he told the Press Association. ''But after a good night's sleep, we will wake up and take the point because Spurs are a fantastic team. We need to take courage from the last performances and try and build on them.''