Gareth Bale injury will keep winger out for fortnight

When Gareth Bale went out with a hamstring injury during Tottenham Hotspur's routine 3-0 victory against Fulham, many Spurs supporters would have feared the worst. Bale, after all, is both a hugely influential player and once rather prone to picking up injuries, and a hamstring tear would have been very bad news for Spurs' campaign.

But fortunately, the problem doesn't appear to be too severe. Bale's only expected to miss one to two weeks with the injury, according to manager Andre Villas-Boas, and that means that he's only in line to sit out for a couple of matches. And there's more good news on the injury front for Tottenham -- centre back Michael Dawson, who also left the Fulham match with a hamstring problem, is expected to be available for the weekend's fixture against Everton. It would have been very easy to see Spurs' winter completely derailed had both been missing for an extended spell.