FORMER Spurs striker Jermain Defoe has been left fuming he will not be able to make a competitive return to White Hart Lane this weekend.

The Premier League have revealed that the Portsmouth frontman cannot play in the fixture because his £7million January transfer was initially completed as a loan deal.

It had been thought that Defoe would be available to play, but because the deal changed from being a loan to a permanent move means Defoe will be left on the sidelines this weekend. An alteration in Premier League rules means he will not be allowed to face his former club until next term.

"I can't play at Spurs, that's for definite," Defoe said. "I wasn't sure but that's how it is and I'm gutted."

A Premier League statement read: "The rules are clear. A player who is taken on loan and then, during the course of the transfer window, if that loan is made permanent, he is not allowed to play against the team who originally loaned him."

Pompey manager Harry Redknapp was left far from pleased with the decission.

"For us to get it through in time, we had to do it as a loan deal and convert it into a transfer afterwards," Redknapp said.

"Even that nearly over-ran the deadline. It the transfer has been converted, but because it was a loan he can't play. It's a load of nonsense and it's a silly rule, but there's nothing we can do about it."