Tottenham’s Gareth Bale will not be fit to play for Spurs until the North London derby on Sunday, September 1, according to manager Andre Villas-Boas.

Villas-Boas said:

“For the games against Palace, Tbilisi and Swansea, [Gareth Bale] will not be in line to threaten to come back. We will have to see how he returns today from [international duty with] Wales, and assess if the pain in his foot has stopped troubling his progress to return into first-team training. Our idea is to count on Gareth. I have told you lots and lots of times.

“Speculation has arisen with the player because of the quality that he has and the season that he had, the amazing moments of individual brilliance. Ideally, we would like the player to continue belonging to Tottenham. We are aware that Real Madrid are interested. It doesn’t mean that we are willing to negotiate.”

Whether Bale’s “injury” is actually an injury or a delay tactic to ensure the Welshman doesn’t get injured before the transfer window closes on Monday, September 2, we don’t know. But whatever the case is, the fact that Tottenham will be without Bale for the first two weeks of the season is a blow to the team’s chances of making an impact on the new season.

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