Tottenham boss Andre Villas-Boas hopes Gareth Bale’s ankle injury is not as bad as first feared after he was carried off in the 2-2 draw with Basel.
Report by BBC Sport
The forward (23) fell awkwardly on his right foot late in Thursday’s Europa League quarter-final first leg.
But Villas-Boas said: “It shouldn’t be as bad as it looks on the image.
“There is a big, big possibility if we stay positive that he will be fit for the Man City game (on April 21) and it will only take him out of two games.”
One of those two matches is the return leg against Basel in Switzerland next Thursday.
Wales international Bale has made 38 appearances for Tottenham this season, scoring 22 goals in all competitions.
He started in attack against Basel and provided the cross that led to Emmanuel Adebayor scoring after Spurs had gone 2-0 down.
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But otherwise Bale had a relatively quiet game and his evening ended on a sour note following a late challenge with David Degen.
The ankle appeared to twist underneath itself and Bale was in clear distress as he left the field on a stretcher.
“He rolled on his ankle, at the moment there is a lot of pain, but hopefully not as bad as it could have been,” Villas-Boas said.
“We still have a big squad and the ability to adapt (without Bale). We just have to play against Everton (tomorrow) and see when these players get back to make us even stronger.”
Villas-Boas was already without striker Jermain Defoe because of a muscular problem, while winger Aaron Lennon suffered an injury in the first half and defender Williams Gallas limped off towards the end.
“Gallas may have a small tear on his calf, but again it is about the assessment on Friday (yesterday),” said Villas-Boas.
