Van der Vaart out of Tottenham clash

Rafael van der Vaart was forced to miss Tottenham’s bid to clinch their place in the Champions League knockout phase in the Group A showdown with Werder Bremen on Wednesday.

The Dutch international failed to recover from an ankle injury in time and was a frustrated spectator in the stands at White Hart Lane.

However inspirational midfielder Gareth Bale was passed fit after recovering from a shoulder knock, as Harry Redknapp made just one change from the line-up which defeated Arsenal in last Saturday’s north London derby.

Bremen, who need to win to keep their hopes of reaching the last 16 alive, gave debuts to attacking midfielder Felix Kroos and defender Dominik Schmidt.

Tottenham: Gomes, Hutton, Gallas, Kaboul, Assou-Ekotto, Lennon, Jenas, Modric, Bale, Pavlyuchenko, Crouch.

Werder Bremen: Wiese, Fritz, Mertesacker, Prodl, Schmidt, Kroos, Jensen, Bargfrede, Marin, Hunt, Wagner.