Tottenham boss Harry Redknapp admits Ledley King's fitness is a major problem ahead of the Premiership kickoff.
Redknapp is facing a major dilemma over the fitness of key defender King.
The England international is struggling with his ongoing knee problem ahead of the start of the new season and Redknapp is not willing to take any risks.
The Spurs boss admits he may have to leave King out of the Premier League opener against Manchester City to ensure he is ready for the first leg of the Champions League qualifier a few days later.
"The start of the season is a real problem - just look at Ledley. I'm either going to play him in Europe or in the league," Redknapp explained.
"We start with Man City which is a big opening game so do I play him against Man City or do I play him in the Champions League?
"At the moment Jonathan Woodgate is struggling, Ledley's come back but his knee's not great, so we've got to be careful.
"That Champions League qualifier is massive for us now. We've worked hard to get there and we want to get into the group stages otherwise all the good work we put in last season won't count for anything.
"If Ledley is fit the chances are I'll save him for that because those two qualifying games are now the bigger games for us."
