Adebayor hints Spurs not happy at Afcon participation

EMMANUEL ADEBAYORwill play for Tottenham Hotspur tomorrow before heading off to the Africa Cup of Nations, and has suggested Spurs are less than happy about his participation.

Andre Villas-Boas, the Spurs manager, had said he was relaxed about the Togolese centre-forward’s decision to play at this year’s competition, but the 28-year-old hinted yesterday that that was not necessarily true.

“That is what he said to the press, but not what he said to me. There is a difference between what you say to the press and what you say in private,” Adebayor said in an interview with africatopsports.com, also published on the Togo Football Federation’s website.

Villas-Boas had said on New Year’s Day, following Tottenham’s 3-1 victory over Reading – in which Adebayor scored one of his two league goals this season – that the club would respect the player’s decision either way.

“I’m not going to block a player from international duty,” VillasBoas said.

Adebayor will miss the league games at home against Manchester United on January 20 and at Norwich 10 days later. He will also miss the FA Cup tie, at either Leeds or Birmingham on January 27.

In the unlikely event that Togo get to the final, he would not return until after 10 February, missing another two league matches. – Sports Staff