Defoe out of Euro 2012 qualifiers

Jermain Defoe will miss England's first two Euro 2012 qualifiers after undergoing surgery on a groin injury.

The Tottenham star will be available for his side's Champions League qualifier against Young Boys on Wednesday night but will then go under the knife and is set to be ruled out for a month.

The injury, which has plagued Defoe since the World Cup, means he will miss England's games against Bulgaria (September 3) and Switzerland (September 7).

Spurs boss Harry Redknapp said: "It might only be half a game he can last now, but it's getting less each time - the pain's getting worse.

"He wants to play and train all the time but he's got to have it done now. He can't go on like that."

Defoe had been due to have the operation last Thursday but the German specialist who recently performed a similar operation on team-mate Alan Hutton was unavailable until next week.

Redknapp added: "He's not trained a lot. When he has trained, he's been all right, he's been sticking goals in.

"But then he's had days off where he couldn't train and he's getting worse all the time."