Champions League
Injury sidelines Spurs' Bale
2011-02-13 13:23
London - Welsh winger Gareth Bale is likely to miss Tottenham's Champions League clash with AC Milan due to an ongoing back injury, said Spurs boss Harry Redknapp.
Tottenham's 2-1 win over Sunderland means they will head to the San Siro on Tuesday on the back of three successive Premier League victories.
Rafael van der Vaart, who missed the game at the Stadium of Light with a calf injury, should be fit.
But Bale, despite recovering well from his back problem, is unlikely to make the trip.
Redknapp said: "Gareth is not too far away. He's not going to be fit, I don't think, for Tuesday, but he's not too bad.
"The specialists have seen it, he's had an epidural injection. Peter Crouch has had the same problem and he is fine - in fact, his back looked a lot worse on the scan.
"He shouldn't be too long, but Tuesday may be just a bit too soon for him. But van der Vaart should be okay."
Redknapp said Bale's absence is likely to boost Milan less than a year after he "terrorised" their city neighbours Inter.
"You saw what Gareth did against Inter Milan, when he terrorised them, really, and that would be in their minds an awful lot, I'm sure, if you asked them," he added.
"Everybody in Italy talks about Bale - I went over and watched a game and everyone was asking me: 'Is Bale fit? Is Bale fit?'.
"He would scare them to death, for sure."