Bent may miss Spurs' push for Europe

The Tottenham striker Darren Bent is facing an anxious wait to see whether he will play again this season after suffering a medial ligament injury to his left knee. The 25-year-old picked up the complaint in the second half of last weekend's defeat at Manchester United and will wear a brace for a fortnight before specialists assess him again.

Bent is Spurs' top goalscorer this season with 17 goals but could now miss their final push for European football, after the club looked like relegation candidates until Harry Redknapp took over in October.

Redknapp said: "Darren has had a knee problem that will keep him out for several weeks. He will not be around for a while. It is a blow for him because he has done well and scored goals. We need him and he needs to play. He has been in good form but what can you do?"

Redknapp, whose side host West Bromwich tomorrow, said he would be delighted if his troops can salvage a place in Europe from their below-par campaign.

He said: "There's a little group of us pushing for seventh. I'd like to do it. If we could do it I think it would be a good achievement to come from the bottom of the league to qualifying for Europe. I think it's something we'd all be pleased to do. We'll give it our best shot in the last few games and see what we can do."

Redknapp has earmarked the players he wants to secure in order to propel the club closer to the top four of the Premier League next season. He wants to push for a Champions League place in the same way as Aston Villa and Everton have this campaign.

The 62-year-old was interested in the Sunderland striker Kenwyne Jones and the Middlesbrough winger Stewart Downing in January, and both could get relegated with their respective clubs this season.

"I am just looking to add one or two more in the summer to give us a real squad that can push on next year," Redknapp said. "We're capable of doing that [reaching the Champions League]," Redknapp said. "Getting into it is difficult, they are so strong, but we have to aim to be there if we can. Tottenham have great resources and there's no reason why we can't do it one day. So let's see what we can do next year and if we can do it that would be fantastic."