Bale out for Spurs
Andre Villas-Boas does not expect Gareth Bale to be at White Hart Lane on Sunday for what could turn out to be the last Tottenham match before he departs for Real Madrid.
Tottenham have put Bale's world-record transfer to Madrid on hold after they failed to sign Willian, who had been earmarked as a replacement for the Welshman.
Tottenham were very close to signing the Brazil international, whose best position is the number 10 role Bale operated in last season, but Chelsea look to
have sneaked in at the 11th hour to snap up the former Anzhi Makhachkala player for around B#32million.
As Spurs look for alternatives to Willian - talks are ongoing with Roma over a deal for Erik Lamela - Bale remains on the books at the north London club.
It seems inevitable that Bale will be announced as a Real Madrid player in the coming days, but should the #93million deal not happen by Sunday, he will not be compelled to be at White Hart Lane to bid farewell to the Tottenham fans before the club's game against Swansea as he is officially still suffering from a foot injury.
Many Tottenham players sit on the back bench of the home dugout at White Hart Lane when they are injured, but it looks like Bale will not do so this weekend.
"We have no rules for or obligation for players not selected to be on the bench or in the stadium so I don't expect Gareth to be seen at the club," Villas-Boas said.
Defender Jan Vertonghen (ankle), winger Aaron Lennon (foot), striker Jermain Defoe (hamstring) and midfielder Sandro (knee) are all expected to be fit for the game after being rested for the 5-0 win over Dinamo Tbilisi on Thursday night.
Midfielder Lewis Holtby is out with a knee problem and striker Emmanuel Adebayor is not fully fit following his spell of compassionate leave.
Swansea boss Michael Laudrup is expected to tinker with his team.
Left-back Ben Davies may return after missing out against Petrolul Ploiesti in the Europa League through injury, while Jonathan de Guzman's return from concussion means he may be in line for a start in midfield.
Nathan Dyer looks set to miss out again with a hamstring injury, but Jordi Amat and Jose Canas may come into contention for starting berths as Laudrup looks to manage the demands of domestic and European campaigns.
Laudrup admits Tottenham have spent well this summer, but feels it is inevitable the impending departure of "superstar" Bale will have an impact on the north London club.
"They will have a very, very strong squad but a squad without a superstar," he said.
"A lot of very good players, but without one superstar as you have to admit Gareth Bale last season was an absolute superstar for Tottenham.
"I don't know if they will be better or less but I know they will be a little different because you can have a very good team, but it is always so nice that there is one player you can just give the ball and you know he can do something great.
"When you see Real Madrid play they have very good players, but at certain points they have to turn to Cristiano Ronaldo and Barcelona has Lionel Messi.
"They are super teams but some of them need to have that player who makes a difference."
Source: PA
Source: PA