Aaron Lennon is finally poised to end his lengthy absence due to injury with Harry Redknapp confirming the "good news" that the winger will be in the Tottenham squad to face Manchester United on Saturday.
A persistent groin problem has prevented Lennon from making a solitary appearance in 2010, and his hopes of featuring in the remainder of the season, and by extension the World Cup, appeared to be in jeopardy earlier in April when he broke down in training to slow his recovery.
But Lennon, who started three successive World Cup qualifiers under Fabio Capello in September and October, has trained successfully this week and may well feature in Saturday's game at Old Trafford.
"He trained fully with us this week for the first time since the injury and it's going well," Tottenham manager Harry Redknapp told the Sun.
"He should be on the bench at least and it's great to have Aaron around again - not only for Tottenham but for England, too. It's good news."
With injury ruling David Beckham out of the World Cup in South Africa and Theo Walcott having a mixed season at Arsenal, Lennon now has four Premier League games in which to prove his fitness to Capello and secure a place in the Italian's 23-man squad.
Ledley King may also stand a chance of making the World Cup with reports on Friday morning claiming Fabio Capello has been in contact with Tottenham's medical staff regarding the condition of the injury-afflicted defender.
King is unable to play two games in a week, and has started just 15 league games this season, but England striker Jermain Defoe believes his club colleague deserves the chance to represent his country.
"Hopefully we will get another chance to see why my Spurs team-mate Ledley King poses such a conundrum ahead of the World Cup," Defoe wrote in the Mirror. "It's such a shame that Ledley's knee problems restrict him to only one game a week but he was outstanding in our win over Arsenal and we are hoping he is fit to face Manchester United.
"Ledley against Wayne Rooney could be a fascinating duel tomorrow [Saturday]. We all saw how he coped against Didier Drogba, who has been magnificent this season. It was the kind of top-class display that we have become used to seeing from him and I think he should go to the World Cup."
