The Football Association are set to appeal against Tom Huddlestone's suspension that threatens to deny him a place in the England Under-21 squad for the European Championships finals next summer.
Huddlestone, the Tottenham midfielder, was dismissed in the qualifying play-off against Wales last month and UEFA have handed out a three-match ban for the tackle on Darcy Blake that earned a straight red card.
Under-21 coach Stuart Pearce would be reluctant to take a player to the finals who would miss the group stages of the finals, and there are hopes of the FA appeal leading to a shorter punishment.
Huddlestone is an experienced member of Pearce's squad and his performances this season under Harry Redknapp have even seen him mentioned as a possible candidate for a senior call-up.
Redknapp is expected to use the 21-year-old against Everton this weekend in the Barclays Premier League clash at White Hart Lane, with the youngster anchoring the midfield and spreading the ball in his "quarterback" role.
Such is his range of passing, Redknapp has previously compared Huddlestone to Spurs legend Glenn Hoddle.
"To be compared to someone who is a legend at Tottenham is a great compliment but I can't read too much into it, I've got to play my own game and hope to be as successful as he was," Huddlestone said.
Huddlestone tasted success last season with the Carling Cup victory and, after a poor start to the campaign, wants to build on Spurs' run of seven wins from nine games under Redknapp.
They are effectively in the knockout stages of the UEFA Cup following victory over NEC Nijmegen this week, and they face Watford in the Carling Cup quarter-finals on Wednesday.
"Obviously confidence is high," he said. "The NEC match wasn't the greatest performance as a team but that is a good ingredient to have - to win games when you aren't playing that well.
"Winning games and getting good results gives you the confidence you need. I don't think any team fears anyone else, it's just a case of believing in your own game and going into matches knowing that if you perform well you've got a chance of winning.
"I had a very disappointing start to the season on a personal level, it was one out of 12 that I played. I think I've started the last eight so things are picking up for me and the team as well."
Redknapp's arrival has got Spurs fans thinking about success this season rather than the relegation battle they faced under former boss Juande Ramos.
"We're in the quarter-finals of the Carling Cup and we're doing fairly well in Europe," Huddlestone said. "The league is so tight that if you string together three or four victories then you are in the mix.
"Any teams that gets to the quarter-finals has done well. Watford is not an easy game as we found in the Premier League but the cup competitions are something we thrive in, especially after the victory last season."
Meanwhile, Redknapp has backed Gareth Bale to eventually become his first-choice left-back but admits the Wales youngster needs to work on the defensive side of his game.
Benoit Assou-Ekotto has been preferred in recent games, while Bale was given his chance against NEC.
"He has to learn the game," Redknapp said. "He has everything to be a top player. He has to learn how to defend, learn how not to let people play balls inside him, learn to recover, just learn parts of his game.
"But it's all there. He's 6ft tall, a great athlete and I didn't know he had a long throw until the NEC game. It was amazing he threw it that far. He never showed that before, he kept it up his sleeve.
"He may have to play forward until he learns the position better but I can see him being a top left-back."
