Andre Villas-Boas has brought us more news on Gareth Bale’s hamstring injury, following today’s training session ahead of Tottenham’s Europa League tie with Panathinaikos.
The Spurs boss has confirmed Bale will miss the trip to Everton but remains confident that the Welshman will be back in the frame for the home clash with Swansea in Gameweek 17…
“He will not make Everton but could be back for next weekend. But I have other options and I have excellent players.”
The prognosis is in line with Facer’s From the Physio article posted last night, which suggested that we will see Bale return against the Swans.
The news is likely to see Gylfi Sigurdsson drafted into the Spurs starting XI for the Goodison trip, although Emmanuel Adebayor is also available after suspension to offer the Spurs boss the option of shifting Clint Dempsey to a flank role. Meanwhile, confirmation of Bale’s absence could well lead to a surge in sales ahead of the weekend – the Welshman has already suffered almost 70,000 transfers out this week, with his value dropping by 0.1.
Villas-Boas also revealed that both Scott Parker and Benoit Assou-Ekotto are very close to returns – they could both come into contention for the White Hart Lane clash a week on Sunday.
