Real trio ruled out of Spurs game

Real Madrid boss Jose Mourinho says Cristiano Ronaldo will not play in the first-leg Champions League quarter-final tie against Tottenham next week.

The forward is struggling with a hamstring injury, while striker Karim Benzema has sustained a thigh problem and full-back Marcelo has sore ribs.

Mourinho said the trio will not be available until 9 April when his team play Athletic Bilbao.

"That is what the reports that the medical staff say," said Mourinho.

"If they were available they would play [against Sporting Gijon]. Saturday's match is more decisive than next week's against Tottenham because the latter is the best of two.

"If we don't win the first we still have a chance in the second.

"It will only get harder if we lose points at home. La Liga will be lost if we lose [against Gijon]. If we lose on Tuesday we can still win the following week.

"I cannot rest or bench players like [Mesut] Ozil, [Angel] Di Maria or [Ricardo] Carvalho. I cannot make any more changes."

Benzema and Marcelo sustained their injuries on international duty during the week - for France and Brazil respectively - while Ronaldo, who has scored 37 goals for Real in all competitions in his second season at the Bernabeu, missed Portugal's match against Finland.

But Mourinho has been boosted by the sooner-than-expected return of striker Gonzalo Higuain following back surgery.

The Argentina striker has been included in Real's squad to face Gijon on Saturday, the first time he has featured since November.

"His recovery is a positive surprise because we thought he may miss up to the final 15 games of the season and having him is important," added Mourinho.

"Not even with the best estimate would we expect him to return to playing so soon. We're very happy."

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Bale ruled out for Wales

The Football Association of Wales has confirmed that Gareth Bale has pulled out of Saturday's Euro 2012 qualifier against England with a hamstring injury. Sky Sports News reported on Thursday morning that the 21-year-old had missed training sessions after suffering the setback in the wake of last weekend's match for Tottenham against West Ham.

Wales' fears have now been confirmed after a scan to mean that winger Bale is returning to Spurs for further assessment and will therefore miss the Group G game in Cardiff. A statement on the FAW's official website read: "Due to a hamstring problem, Gareth Bale has had to withdraw from the Wales squad to face England on Saturday.

"He felt tight last week during training with his club. After playing 90 minutes on Saturday he felt some muscle tightness. Initially, this was expected to be muscle soreness after playing his first game."

Bale's withdrawal comes as a major setback to Wales manager Gary Speed, who has inherited a team who have lost their first three matches in the current European qualifying campaign. Even if the former Sheffield United boss can guide Wales to what would be a huge shock against Fabio Capello's England at the Millennium Stadium, qualification would still appear unlikely.

But Bale's injury does not come as a great surprise, because it is not the first time his blossoming career has been hampered by injuries and he has only recently returned to the Tottenham team from a back problem. The former Southampton player's youth career was heavily disrupted by a number of frustrating muscular problems related to the speed of his growth in his teenage years.

Bale was almost released by Southampton due to his repeated injuries and his playing days were also almost ended by a fractured bone in one of his feet shortly after he joined Tottenham.

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