Johannesburg - Steven Pienaar missed his chance to cement a place in the Spurs starting XI against Blackburn last night, dropping out of the match day squad with an unfortunate injury.

His Bafana Bafana team-mate Bongani Khumalo was the unwitting cause of Pienaar's misfortune, apparently bashing him in the head by mistake.

"The other South African (Bongani Khumalo) thought his head was the ball and knocked him unconscious in training," Spurs manager Harry Redknapp revealed in the Daily Mail.

The South African international looked set to start at Ewood Park after Luka Modric had been forced to miss the match following emergency surgery.

The Croatian schemer's absence compounded an already severe injury crisis for Spurs, and "Schillo" was all set to step into the gap.

"Unfortunately I have to watch from the sidelines tonight(Wednesday) after suffering a concussion on Tuesday in training," Schillo tweeted shortly before the game.

He will now be forced to sit out a few days of training, as is standard procedure after a concussion.

The enforced absence could hurt Pienaar's chances of winning a place in Redknapp's regular starting XI.

Fortunately for Spurs, they were able to record a vital win over Blackburn despite their injury woes.

The win kept Spurs within touching distance of the top four, and they will now feel confident of pushing on towards bigger and better things.

"I'm happy with three points and a clean sheet," Redknapp said after the match. "Especially after losing two more players after I picked the side. I had to change things round again but we still came with an attacking team."

Spurs don't play a top four team until April, and have Champions League tie against AC Milan to look forward to, so despite their army of walking wounded it is exciting times at White Heart Lane.