Scans reveal Tottenham’s Gareth Bale has minor hamstring strain

Gareth Bale, Wales

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Tottenham have revealed Gareth Bale has a slight hamstring strain but insist the winger felt no discomfort after running on Monday morning.

The 21-year-old was forced to withdraw from Wales’s squad to face England last week with the injury, although where he picked the injury up was a contentious issue.

The winger returned to Spurs on Monday where he took part in training and the club’s head of medical services, Wayne Diesel, revealed the injury was not as bad as first feared.

“Gareth has returned to the Lodge and taken part in controlled straight-line running so we could assess him,” Diesel told the club’s official website.

“We sent him for an ultrasound scan examination this afternoon and that has confirmed the presence of a minor grade one hamstring strain.

“Gareth has reported no pain or stiffness after taking part in the running this morning and we shall continue to monitor him and see how he responds to his conditioning programme throughout the week.”

Diesel reiterated the club’s stance regarding the winger’s fitness before leaving to join up with the Welsh squad, and maintains the strain had occurred during a training session with Gary Speed’s side.

“Gareth did not report any hamstring issues when we assessed our players after our fixture with West Ham United which means he was free to report for international duty,” he insisted.

“Nor did the Football Association of Wales raise any problems with us prior to his first training session with the national team on Tuesday following two days of rest.

“He was passed fit to train by the FAW medical team and it was only after 40 minutes of his first training session on Tuesday, which included some high intensity runs, Gareth complained of tightness in his right hamstring and was pulled out of the remainder of the session as a precaution.

“We requested the player be sent immediately for a scan which subsequently revealed the hamstring strain that forced his withdrawal from the squad.”