Ledley King’s goal last night was his first for three years. Another statistic: it came in his thirteenth appearance of the season, so he has already surpassed last term’s total by three. King is a strange blend — a strong, commanding centre back who is among the most vulnerable and fragile of players. The acceptance that injury is certain to ensure he never fully reaches his potential must be balanced by the knowledge that every time he steps on to a pitch represents a small victory over the body that seeks to betray him.

The 28-year-old last played for England in June 2007 and, regardless of his merits, it is hard to imagine that Fabio Capello will rush to select a man who is barely able to train, let alone play, twice in a week, because of a chronic knee injury.

“Ledley’s a fantastic player. If he was fit, he’s an England player. It’s just been unfortunate, his knee is a massive problem,” Harry Redknapp, the Tottenham manager, said. “He’s not trained. was the first morning that he came out training. He trained for about 15 minutes, his knee was hurting, it was swollen and he had to go off. I said, ‘no chance tomorrow, Ledley?’ And he said. ’I’m going to ice it, I’ll see how it is tomorrow.’ And he’s turned up today and said, ‘I’ll give it a go.’

“That’s how it is every week for him. He can’t train all week, the first time we see him is the day before a game when he comes out and tries to get himself going again. It’s such a shame for such a talented, fantastic boy that he’s got a knee like that.”

So Tottenham’s captain may not feature against Manchester United on Saturday? “He’d be doubtful. We have to be careful with him because if he does play two games in a week and his knee blows up he could be out for a long time,” Redknapp said. “He’s so important we have to pick his games.”

While the home fans made their dislike of Tottenham clear by repeatedly booing the players, Redknapp was not subjected to serious abuse on his return to the club he managed between 1994 and 2001. “I want West Ham to win every week when I’m not playing against them, believe you me. I’m more West Ham than anybody,” he said. A man who bleeds claret and blue certainly knows how to cut West Ham open — this was the fourth successive time Redknapp has visited Upton Park and won.

The locals were angrier with their own team. Gianfranco Zola has only three wins in thirteen matches in charge and West Ham have scored just four times in their past ten games. Zola felt his side should have had a second-half penalty for a handball by Benoît Assou-Ekotto. “It was a clear penalty but I can’t kill the referee, he’s a human being, he can make mistakes,” Zola said.

“I can understand the frustration but we gave everything. It’s not an easy situation but we’re going to be working even harder to improve. We need to put it right. We don’t panic, we have faith.”