AVB draws line under Bale talk

Tottenham manager Andre Villas-Boas refused to be drawn any further on the future of Real Madrid target Gareth Bale - but stressed the midfielder would link up with Wales next week.Bale was a notable absentee as Tottenham rounded off their pre-season campaign with a 1-1 draw against Espanyol at White Hart Lane, where summer signing Roberto Soldado marked his home debut with a goal from the penalty spot in the first half.It was a sound performance from Spurs, who look well-equipped to challenge for the top four of the Barclays Premier League once again.But the debate surrounding whether or not talismanic midfielder Bale will remain past the September 2 transfer deadline will continue to make the headlines as the Spanish giants are said to be ready to spend the best part of £100million to land him.Villas-Boas said: "The only thing I can say about the stories is I am not going to comment because everybody has speculated a lot. There are some different stories, some which are not true, with people inventing without knowledge of what is going on."The only thing I can tell you is the player is under the treatment of the medical department for this pain in the foot which is disturbing him."He has been called up for his national team [for a friendly match against the Republic of Ireland], our medical department is going to be in contact with the Wales medical department to make sure they have everything available in terms of giving information on how the player has been doing in these last weeks."Regarding the speculation, I don't want to extend myself further than I have told you."Bale, who was not at White Hart Lane, is set to report for international duty with Wales on Sunday ahead of Wednesday's friendly against Ireland.Villas-Boas said: "The only thing we can do is make information available to the Welsh FA. If he gets to a fixture available to play it is because he hasn't felt pain. He is training on his own so there is a possibility he makes a recovery."

Source: PA