Defoe comes back for Spurs

Tottenham striker Jermain Defoe has declared himself available for selection for the Barclays Premier League trip to Sunderland after a swift recovery from a hamstring injury.

The 27-year-old suffered the problem in training just over a fortnight ago and has been sleeping in an altitude chamber to speed up his comeback.

Spurs boss Harry Redknapp said: “He’s fit and available but I don’t have to take a chance because I also have Peter Crouch, Eidur Gudjohnsen and Roman Pavlyuchenko.”

Michael Dawson (Achilles), Tom Huddlestone (ankle), Vedran Corluka (ankle), Ledley King (thigh) and Aaron Lennon (groin) are out and Wilson Palacios (groin) is struggling to be fit.

Jonathan Woodgate (groin) is out for the season and Carlo Cudicini (wrist/pelvis) is also expected to miss the rest of the campaign but is back training.

Provisional squad: Gomes, Alnwick, K Walker, Bale, Assou-Ekotto, Kaboul, Bassong, Dervite, Modric, Kranjcar, Livermore, Bentley, Rose, Townsend, Kane, Gudjohnsen, Crouch, Pavlyuchenko, Defoe.