Source: Daily_Mail
Gareth Bale to miss Wales against England
England have received a major boost after Wales star Gareth Bale was ruled out of their crunch clash. [LNB]The Tottenham winger was the key threat to England's hopes of victory in the Euro 2012 qualifier in Cardiff on Saturday. [LNB]Bale suffered a hamstring injury in the countdown to the match at the Millennium Stadium.[LNB] Wide boy: The Welsh were pinning most of their hopes on speedster Bale ripping England apart on the flank[LNB] [LNB]Bale played his first 90 minutes against West Ham last weekend since picking up a back injury in January.[LNB]The Football Association of Wales confirmed the player would take no part in the encounter after suffering tightness in the muscle.[LNB]The 21-year-old's training has been curtailed this week and, following a scan, is now returning to his club Tottenham for further assessment.[LNB]The FAW statement read: 'Due to a hamstring problem, Gareth Bale has had to withdraw from the Wales squad to face England on Saturday.[LNB]'He felt tight last week during training with his club. After playing 90 minutes on Saturday he felt some muscle tightness. Initially, this was expected to be muscle soreness after playing his first game.[LNB]Club call: Spurs will now assess Bale[LNB]'On joining up with the Welsh squad he was kept off his feet in training for two days to recover. As he still felt tight in the warm-up on Tuesday, Gareth was pulled out of thesession. [LNB]'He did not train at all on Wednesdayand was sent for a scan. The scan revealed that Gareth Bale picked up his injury last week.'[LNB]The statement forced Gary Speed to face the media to nip in the bud any suggestion of a club-versus-country row with Tottenham.[LNB]Confusion had arose after reports this morning claiming the 21-year-old pulled up in training yesterday were commented upon by Wales assistant manager Raymond Verheijen via his Twitter account.[LNB]Verheijen wrote: 'This morning there will be an official statement by Gary Speed about the situation with Gareth Bale. The incompetent amateurs struck again!'[LNB]It was followed by another comment which read: 'Funny to read about Gareth Bale injuring his hamstring in training yesterday.....as he did not train at all yesterday.'[LNB]Verheijen later needed to clarify those remarks after his ambiguous 'incompetent amateurs' comment was interpreted as referring to Tottenham medical staff.[LNB]Speed then decided to take today's planned media briefing instead of coach Osian Roberts to put the matter straight.[LNB]Speed said: 'In no way did it refer to Tottenham, that is a given. I can understand it might be portrayed that it was but the fact it was reported Gareth did his hamstring in training yesterday, when he didn't train yesterday, was the incompetent bit.[LNB]'We do take a lot of time and effort to make sure our players are right so when something is reported like that that is incorrect, it is not right. That is where the confusion on that side has come from.'[LNB]The England camp are sure to welcome the news. [LNB]Manager Fabio Capello has mentioned Bale in the same breath as Barcelona superstar Lionel Messi and Real Madrid's former Manchester United favourite Cristiano Ronaldo.[LNB]Striker Peter Crouch reckons his team-mate at White Hart Lane still has a way to go to catch the two biggest names in the Spanish top flight but he was full of praise for the youngster this week.[LNB]Crouch said: 'Gareth is only young, developing. In that position he's got to be up there with the top players in the world. [LNB]'He's done it in the Champions League. What he did to Inter Milan, over two games, showed people what he is capable of and what he will do in the future.[LNB] Boost: England right-back Glen Johnson will be relieved to avoid facing Bale[LNB]'He'sa top-class player and he's been on fire for the last two years. Sometimes he's unplayable. He's got tremendous pace. [LNB]'He runs the whole length of the pitch with the ball and then he runs the whole length backjust as quickly. Then he's ready to do it again in a minute's time.'[LNB]There will now be fears from Tottenham's camp over Bale's availability for their Champions League quarter-final showdown with Real Madrid. [LNB]Quick Speed: Wales boss Gary was forced onto the defensive over Bale[LNB]Spurs travel to the Bernabeu for the first leg on April 5, with the return at White Hart Lane eight days later.[LNB]But Speed added: 'Gareth reported from Spurs with stiffness. We left him out of training Sunday and Monday just to assess him and put him through the recovery process.[LNB]'He did the warm-up Tuesday morning and he still felt a bit of tightness in his hamstring, so we took him off. He didn't train Wednesday so we took him for a scan. The results came back that he has an injury there.[LNB]'I think you can tell on scans now, with the fluid and the blood that it was an injury from last week.[LNB]'We do our utmost here to look after players and Gareth is the most important person in this scenario, so it was decided he wouldn't play Saturday.'[LNB]Bale is to stay with the Wales squad and receive treatment before returning to Spurs after Saturday's game.[LNB]Speed has been in regular contact with the club over the matter and insists there has been no communication problem.[LNB]The Wales boss has also played down the seriousness of the injury to allay Spurs fears with the first leg of their Champions League quarter-final against Real Madrid in 12 days' time.[LNB]He said: 'To drive back to Tottenham, when he wants to come to the game on Saturday anyway - I think it would be counter-productive for him to be sitting in the car for hours on end.[LNB]'I am sure he will play next week, it's an injury from last week. I'm no expert but I am sure it is only a 10-day thing.[LNB]'The scan was to put Gareth's mind at rest but it showed something, so it was a no-brainer really. If nothing had come back I think Gareth would have been happy to carry on.'[LNB] Captain Rambo! Arsenal ace Ramsey to skipper Wales on his comeback in crunch clash against England Bale delivers warning to England ahead of Euro 2012 showdownSpeed drafts in secret weapon to get fans dancing to his tune... Miss Wales!All the latest Tottenham news, features and opinion [LNB] [LNB] ] Explore more:People: Gary Speed, Gareth Bale, Cristiano Ronaldo, Peter Crouch, Fabio Capello, Lionel Messi Places: Cardiff, Barcelona, United Kingdom, Wales Organisations: Football Association of Wales
