Hat Trick Hero Misses Milan Return

Tottenham will be without the man who scored a hat-trick on their last visit to the San Siro as Gareth Bale has failed to recover from a back injury in time for their last-16 first leg against AC Milan.

The Welsh winger has been out for a number of weeks now but manager Harry Redknapp had earmarked this Tuesday’s game as a possible opportunity for his return. Peter Crouch and Luka Modric are also doubtful but the return of Rafael van der Vaart is a big boost for the north London club.

Niko Kranjcar has now scored two winning goals in his last two starts for Spurs and is likely to retain his place for this one.

"Niko deserves his place in the team," said Redknapp following Saturday’s win over Sunderland.

"He's a top player. He practises, he spends time after training every day. Every day, he is on the training ground after he finishes doing a half-hour's practice."

Spurs were 4-0 down inside 35 minutes the last time that they visited the San Siro, before a second-half Bale hat-trick galvanised their Champions League campaign. But Redknapp knows that they cannot afford a similarly slow start in this fixture.

Milan beat Parma 4-0 at the weekend to maintain a three point lead at the top of Serie A and are quoted at 8/11 to take a lead into the second leg of this tie. Spurs are 4/1 and the draw is 11/4.

More importantly, Milan are given the nod in the to qualify market, but only just. The Rossoneri are quoted at 4/5 to go through to the quarter-finals while Spurs are just 11/10. Home advantage in the second leg could turn out to be a huge advantage for the Londoners.