Defoe May Not Need Surgery After All

While Jermain Defoe's possibly surgery may not be the biggest injury news of the day, that honor goes to Nationals pitcher Stephen Strasburg, it has certainly caught the attention of soccer fans. Two weeks ago, Defoe aggravated a groin injury he suffered during the World Cup in the first leg of Tottenham's match against Young Boys.
After scoring one of Spurs' four goals in their 4-0 blowout in the second leg, Defoe's groin apparently feels fine. It's amazing what a win and beneficial no call will do for a player's spirit.
The cynic in me believes that if this injury has nagged Defoe for the last two months, there's no reason why it's going to stop now, especially if he continues to play and put added stress on it. Ask anyone who has suffered a major injury. You have your good days and your bad days. And Defoe happens to be in that "good" stage. For now.
Many questioned why Defoe didn't have the surgery after the first Young Boys match. He sat out against Stoke, so it would have seemed like a perfect time to get it done. It turns out that Defoe was adamant about helping his team advance to the Champions League group stage. Even if he could only play 60 minutes, he wanted to contribute whatever he could.
It made sense at the time, but quite frankly, Spurs would have been just fine without Defoe. Defoe's possible surgery is expected to heal in about 4 weeks. At this point, he could have been a week and a half through the healing process.
Manager Harry Redknapp says that Defoe will play this week against Wigan, and if he feels fine then he may not need surgery. But if his groin starts to bother him again, he'll have the surgery after the game, no questions asked.
If Defoe does eventually need surgery, this is the point in the season to do it. Here's the forecast for the next four weeks. Next weekend is a bye, then West Bromwich Albion on the road, and Wolves at home. All three are winnable games even without Defoe.
The game towering above all else is Spurs first game against Werder Bremen, September 14th on the road. This will be one of the most, if not the most important game in determining whether Spurs can advance out of the group stages.
Defoe would have missed this game even if he elected to have surgery a week and a half ago. Here's to hoping he'll be able to suit up for it.
I'm no doctor, but I do know that reoccurring injuries don't often heal themselves. If there's a possible exception to this rule, I'm hoping for it now.