Gareth Bale appears to have overcome a hamstring injury and should be fit to face Real Madrid in the Champions League quarter-final on Tuesday night, according to Harry Redknapp. Bale, 21, has been dogged by a hamstring strain that forced him to miss Wales's Euro 2012 qualifier with England nine days ago and there has been considerable doubt that he would recover in time to play in the first leg in Spain. But Redknapp, the Tottenham Hotspur manager, said that Bale trained on Friday and suggested his absence from the goalless Premier League draw at Wigan Athletic on Saturday came with the first leg at the Santiago Bernabéu in mind. "I think Gareth should be fit," Redknapp said. "He has been out doing some work with us, did a bit with the fitness coach and trained at about 80%, so I see no reason why he wouldn't be OK. It was just felt that if he played against Wigan then he could stiffen up and he definitely wouldn't play Tuesday." Bale played 90 minutes against West Ham United a fortnight ago, his first completed match since mid-January after a six-week lay-off with a back problem, and reported tightness in a hamstring during a warm-up with his Wales colleagues three days later. He has since progressed beyond work with Spurs' strength and conditioning coach, Nathan Gardiner, to force himself back into contention for the club's biggest European night since their Uefa Cup final win over Anderlecht 27 years ago. Uncertainty over fitness to key players has provided an intriguing subplot ahead of the first leg. Redknapp admitted that William Gallas was unlikely to play while Madrid's manager, José Mourinho, has added to the mind games by suggesting that Cristiano Ronaldo could defy medical advice to feature after all.
Redknapp will make a decision over Gallas on Monday morning but Spurs are keen to give the 33-year-old Frenchman every opportunity to board the plane to Spain since they are desperately short of defensive cover. The captain, Michael Dawson, and Sébastien Bassong are the only two senior centre-backs fit, and it has been confirmed that Alan Hutton needs knee surgery and will miss the rest of the season. "William Gallas is struggling," said Redknapp. "Unless there is a big improvement – on Friday he couldn't even kick a ball – he has no chance. The scan showed nothing apart from bone bruising but he was in a lot of pain. I am hoping he is going to be fit, for sure, his experience is vital to us, so we will give him as long as we can." Spurs' bid to secure a second consecutive top-four Premier League finish took a jolt at the weekend with a jaded performance at the DW Stadium, but Madrid's preparations were also far from ideal as they slipped to a surprise 1-0 home defeat to Sporting Gijón, Mourinho surrendering his personal nine-year unbeaten league home run in the process. Before the weekend Mourinho had announced that Ronaldo, the Brazilian full-back Marcelo and Karim Benzema would all be sidelined against Spurs, but after the game Mourinho suggested the former Manchester United forward might play after all. "If Cristiano Ronaldo plays against Tottenham it is because he and his coach have taken the decision to risk it," Mourinho said. "The medical staff have said that he cannot play. If he does, it is our risk. The medical staff told me that Marcelo is out for two weeks, that Cristiano can play in Bilbao [on Saturday] and that [Karim] Benzema can play in Bilbao or against Tottenham away. But maybe I will go over their heads. Maybe they will kill me if Cristiano and Marcelo play. If they do play, it is my risk. The doctors say no."
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