Gareth Bale could return from injury in time for Tottenham’s Premier League clash with Stoke on Saturday.

The Welsh winger has been sidelined since the start of the month, after suffering a hamstring injury in the Londoners’ 3-0 win over Fulham.

It was suspected that Bale would be unable to return until the New Year, but Spurs boss Andre Villas-Boas revealed that his star man is close to making a full recovery:

"It's good news," AVB responded when asked about the wideman’s progress by SkySports.

"First for the player because he wants to be back in the group and he's made a tremendous recovery. He's worked extremely hard.”

Centre-back Michael Dawson suffered a similar injury in the same game, and AVB confirmed that he is also in contention to make his comeback:

"Michael was injured in the same game as Gareth and they've both returned to training. It's great to have them back.”

The Portuguese coach went on to state that left-back Benoit Assou-Ekotto and Scott Parker are also nearing full fitness:

"Benoit Assou-Ekotto is also recovering his fitness, along with Scott Parker. Scott is a little ahead of Benoit, but he's getting back into shape and back into contention."