Tottenham's Van der Vaart injures hamstring

Tottenham Hotspur are likely to be without Rafael van der Vaart for the Christmas and New Year English Premier League fixtures after the Dutchman injured his hamstring in their 1-1 draw with Chelsea on Thursday.

Van der Vaart, who has scored six league goals this season, failed to return after halftime against Chelsea and manager Harry Redknapp said he would miss away games against Norwich City and Swansea City next week.

"Rafa keeps getting hamstrings," Redknapp said. "He seems to suffer from that problem but when he plays he is a fantastic footballer.

"I would think he will be out for the festive period."

Tottenham, in third place, have mounting injury concerns going into a crucial period of the season with winger Aaron Lennon also sidelined by a hamstring injury and defender Younes Kaboul suffering a similar problem in the warm-up against Chelsea.

Striker Jermain Defoe, who missed the Chelsea game, is another with hamstring problems.

"A load of games in a short spell gives you problems," Redknapp said.