The £15.75million England striker, who has played only five times since his return to White Hart Lane from Portsmouth earlier this month, will be a heartbroken absentee from the Carling Cup Final against Manchester United at Wembley on March 1.
Defoe, 26, had scored three goals since teaming up again with manager Harry Redknapp, but he is unlikely to play until late March at the earliest after suffering the dramatic setback on Thursday morning.
The injury will force Redknapp, who is desperately trying to lead his team away from a Barclays Premier League relegation struggle, to sign another striker before the transfer window closes on Monday at 5pm.
But the absence of a player whose pace and finishing power had already brought rewards leaves a huge gap in the Tottenham team.
Lyon striker Fred was due for talks earlier this week with Redknapp but the Brazilian’s prospects of a move were shelved because of potential problems over a work permit and his personal terms.
'Now we have this situation to deal with. They have to make an official offer and we will say yes or no.
'We have not decided yet whether we’ll take this further — it depends on their response.’
Spurs hoped Defoe’s goals would keep them away from trouble, but with Darren Bent suffering a loss of form, Roman Pavlyuchenko must shoulder the burden.
Defoe missed last year’s Carling Cup Final triumph over Chelsea because he had been sold to Redknapp’s Pompey by former Spurs boss Juande Ramos.
He was also a frustrated bystander when Portsmouth won the FA Cup because he was cup-tied.
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