Gareth Bale will miss Tottenham Hotspur’s opening match of the Premier League season this weekend against Crystal Palace due to his recurring injury, says Spurs boss Andre Villas-Boas.

Villas-Boas was asked whether Bale would start against Palace, to which he replied:

“No because he has been out injured for most of the pre-season. He was involved in the games that we had against Brentford and Swindon but not any more for different reasons.

“He pulled a muscle on his gluteus that prevented him from being involved for two weeks. He has been complaining with pain in his foot. I think the most natural thing is for us not to involve him in this new game coming against Palace.”

Meanwhile, the Portuguese manager had this to say on talkSPORT about Bale:

“This is a player of great importance for Spurs and a player we are not willing to negotiate for.

“We recognize the interest from other clubs but we can’t do anything at this stage.”

At this point, it’s a race against time for Gareth Bale. Either a deal is pushed through between now and early September, or the Welshman stays as a Tottenham footballer for at least six more months. Who will win the tug of war? Tottenham, Real Madrid or Manchester United?

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