The injury to Dawson leaves Juande Ramos with several difficult decisions ahead of the Carling Cup final at the end of the month. Although the Spaniard will be reasonably happy to play Younes Kaboul against the Czech side, he may be forced to bring back Ledley King earlier than he had hoped if Dawson does not recover in time. Jonathan Woodgate, who was suspended yesterday, should return to add some experience to a defence that have tightened up noticeably over the past few games.
There are, however, some encouraging signs that Ramos is making genuine progress in improving the way we defend. In the past four league games we have conceded just one goal and kept three clean sheets - figures that would have been even more impressive had we not conceded a late equaliser against Manchester United last week. Furthermore, with the additions of Woodgate and Alan Hutton, as well as the Brazilian Gilberto, fans would be forgiven for expecting the clubs recent impressive defensive record to continue.