Could injuries ruin Tottenham’s season?

Gareth Bale’s absence will be a big blow for tottenham, but could it harm Spurs chances of success this season?

Tottenham suffered a really big scare on Thursday in night in the Europa League.

The whole of White Hart Lane held their breath, as Gareth Bale went down clutching his ankle in stoppage-time of the 2-2 draw against Basel.

Relief

Reports this morning suggest that the Welsh star will be out for just two weeks.

Tottenham host sixth place Everton on Sunday in what could be a key game this season for the North London outfit.

Bale will miss the clash against the Toffee’s and fortunately enough AVB’s team don’t have a game next weekend. Bale could return to the Spurs team for the home game against champions reigning Manchester City in two weeks, much to the relief of everybody connected with Spurs.

The Welshman will also miss the second leg of the Europa League clash against Basel, which could see Tottenham exit the competition.

Vital

Tottenham are not a one-man team, but Gareth Bale is simply one of the best players in the league and if you take him out the team Spurs lose a lot of their attacking threat. Bale plays such a part in everything good about Tottenham’s attacking play that he will be sorely missed.

He creates and scores goal from whatever position he starts in and everybody in the team looks for Bale for inspiration. Sometimes the Tottenham players rely far too much on the Welshman at times, waiting for Bale to do something to win the win the game.

Step-up

Tottenham’s midfield maestro Mousa Dembele has revealed today that the rest of the team will step-up in Bale’s absence. He told Sky Sports: “Can we make the top four without Gaz? Yes, of course we can.

“There are other good players who play well. He has been very important for us but other players have to step up now.”

It is vital for Tottenham that the other players do step-up. The Spurs players are capable of producing good performances in Bale’s absence. However, they should already be depending less on Bale bailing them out (no pun intended).

Others

Gareth Bale is not the only Tottenham player that out is out action through injury though. Spurs will also be missing winger Aaron Lennon for the next few weeks. England teammate Jermain Defoe should be back for the Manchester City game in two weeks.

Both these players have played a big part in Tottenham’s season so far. These players will also be big misses in the games against Everton and Basel.

Tough

Everton have rediscovered their form in recent weeks, after going through a sticky patch. David Moyes side has won three consecutive games in the Premier League and are only four points off fourth place Chelsea.

The key for factor in this match could be the absence of Everton’s midfield duo Marouane Fellaini and Steven Pienaar. The pair make Everton tick from midfield. Fellaini has very much become Everton’s talisman this season.

Had the suspended pair been playing for the Toffee’s then they would have had an excellent chance of claiming a big result at White Hart Lane. Even without the Fellaini and Pienaar, the game could be a tough encounter for Andre Villas-Boas’ team.

If Tottenham lose then it opens the door for Everton to challenge for the top four and the Champions League spots this season.

Behind

Arsenal and Everton both have two games next week, which could leave Spurs trailing the pair if results go against them. Luckily for Spurs, Arsenal and Everton face each other so both sides can’t make up ground on Tottenham.

Strength

We are at the time of the season that Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson once described as squeaky bum time. For Spurs they now need to rally together and show their strength of character.

Their body may be wary in Defoe, Bale and Lennon’s case, but it is now time for the rest of the Tottenham team to prove that they do not have a Bale-dependency.

Qualify

Tottenham are currently third in the Premier League table and I expect the side from north London to qualify for the Champions League. Their task has definitely been made more difficult by injuries to key players, but I fully expect AVB’s team to hold on to a top four spot.

Could injuries ruin Tottenham’s season?