Boost for Spurs as Bale set to return

Bale has been out of action since Basle’s David Degen stood on his right ankle 15 days ago, causing ligament damage.

The fact that his ankle was bent almost at a right angle to his leg raised fears that the 23-year-old star would not play again this season.

An initial diagnosis of three weeks on the sidelines seemed optimistic at the time, but Bale has been training with the Spurs squad for the last two days and the in-form forward now looks set to be fit for the game at White Hart Lane.

“I am pretty confident [Bale will be fit],” the Spurs boss said.

“He’s made good progress from the beginning of the week to be training with the team so I think he will definitely be up for selection.”

Bale has scored 27 goals for club and country this term, but Villas-Boas earning him a place on the PFA Player of the Year shortlist, which was announced yesterday.

Villas-Boas reported further good news from the treatment room regarding Aaron Lennon and Jermain Defoe.

Lennon also limped out of the first leg of the Europa League quarter-final defeat to Basle with a knee injury and Defoe has missed the last two games with a pelvis complaint.

But Villas-Boas was optimistic about their chances of playing tomorrow against the reigning Premier League champions.

“There has been a good recovery from Defoe so he’s trained with the team all week,” said Villas-Boas.

“[Lennon] hasn’t trained with the team yet so there is one more training session to go. All of them are in with a chance of making the selection.”

The return of Tottenham’s three most lethal players after a 10-day break for the squad could not have come at a better time for Villas-Boas, whose team dropped out of the top four last weekend after Arsenal’s win over Norwich.

Spurs led Arsenal by seven points in March, but after a recent run of one win in four league games, Villas-Boas concedes his team have lost the advantage in the race for Champions League qualification, even though they do have the bonus of a match in hand over their rivals.

If Defoe is passed fit, it could mean former Manchester City striker Emmanuel Adebayor drops out.

The striker claimed earlier this week that his former team-mates are likely to turn on each other when things are not going their way.

City’s assistant boss Brian Kidd hit back, however, by claiming his players can argue all they want if success continues.

The runners-up spot looks to be the minimum expectation of City’s league ambitions this season as they head into their final six games trailing Manchester United, who have played one more, by 13 points.

Mancini conceded defeat to United after a damaging loss to Everton last month, while first-team coach David Platt has been similarly dismissive of City’s prospects in his media comments.

But it seems Kidd, a title-winner while on the staff at both United and City, is the eternal optimist among Mancini’s backroom team.

United surrendered an eight-point lead at a similar stage last season and Kidd believes that will play on players’ minds.

“It is United’s to lose but make no mistake, there will be some jittery moments with what happened last year.”