EFC Injury Jinx Strikes Again

    Going in for the kill: Ex-Liverpool player Neil Warnock's reckless lunge

Apparently Tottenham are suffering an injury crisis at the minute.

Michael Dawson and Jermain Defoe were today ruled out for six weeks with respective knee and ankle injuries.

Their absence leaves Tottenham in a bit of a fix and comes at the worst possible time, according to the Daily Mail (it must be true).

The gremlins at the Mail also revealed in their injury-blow-themed back page that Manchester City's latest big-money acquisition Mario Balotelli will be facing, you guessed it, six weeks out after undergoing knee surgery in Italy.

Cry me a river...

Evertonians would have chocked on their cornflakes to learn their star protégé, Jack Rodwell, will face up to THREE MONTHS on the sidelines.

The England Under 21 star has suffered ankle ligament damage after an ex-Liverpool player, Stephen Warnock, hacked him needlessly in the centre circle during Aston Villa's game with Everton last week.

Anyone who saw Dawson's horrific fall last Friday will tell you the defender is lucky not to be facing at least six months out, rather than the six-week prognosis, while City will hardly notice Balotelli's absence.

For Spurs and City, these 'injury blows' should not derail their plans for success both domestically and abroad.

Rodwell's injury, however, is the latest in a long line of lengthy lay-offs to have affected the club since Yakubu was cruelly ruled out for 10 months in November 2008.

Show me an injury crisis, and I'll show you an injury crisis.

Everton's treatment room:

Yakubu, ruptured Achilles (November 2008-September 2009, 10 months)

Mikel Arteta, ruptured cruciate knee ligament (February 2009-January 2010, 11 months)

Victor Anichebe, damaged knee cartilage (February 2009-January 2010, 11 months)

Phil Jagielka, ruptured cruciate knee ligament (April 2009-February 2010, 10 months)

Phil Neville, posterior ligament damage (September 2009-December 2009, 3 months)

Steven Pienaar, knee (September 2009-November 2009, 2 months)

Marouane Fellaini, ankle ligament damage (February 2010-August 2010, 6 months)

Dan Gosling, ruptured cruciate knee ligament (March 2010-present)