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‘Was very objective with me’: Mourinho shares what Bale made clear to him when joining Spurs

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Tottenham Hotspur boss Jose Mourinho has revealed that Gareth Bale made it clear he saw himself as a right-sided attacker when he linked up with Spurs, ruling out the possibility of him being deployed as a striker.

The North Londoners have been left reeling due to Harry Kane suffering injuries to both ankles in midweek.

The striker was forced off from the Premier League defeat against Liverpool, which raised concerns regarding a potential long-term absence.

PFC Ludogorets Razgrad v Tottenham Hotspur: Group J - UEFA Europa League
(Photo by Alex Nicodim/MB Media/Getty Images)

According to The Telegraph, there is optimism that Kane’s latest ankle injuries are not as serious as previous ones he has suffered.

The best case scenario is that Kane may be out for as little as a fortnight, though Spurs are waiting for the swelling to subside on both ankles before he undergoes scans.

A two-week layoff would still see Kane miss the Premier League clashes against Brighton, Tottenham and West Brom, as well as the FA Cup tie against Everton.

Due to a lack of minutes in the Premier League since his summer loan move from Benfica, it is still not clear if Carlos Vinicius will be given the nod at Brighton on Sunday.

One possibility would be to play Bale through the middle like he did on occasions for Real Madrid, but Mourinho thinks the Welshman is better deployed elsewhere.

“I don’t think [Gareth] is a striker, I don’t think he likes to play as a striker,” the 58-year-old told football.london.

“It was something that we spoke when he joined us, he was very objective with me, by saying he doesn’t feel he is a left winger like he was before, he doesn’t feel like he is a No.10 like he was before, too.

“The position that he likes to play is the position where we are playing him every minute we give him, which is the right side of the attack. so when Gareth plays starting or coming from the bench, that’s his position in our game.”

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With Kane potentially being sidelined for at least two weeks, Mourinho has some thinking to do in terms of who to play in his place.

Vinicius is an out-and-out striker and has been brought in as cover for the England captain, so he’s the obvious option.

And barring another crisis up front, we’re unlikely to see Bale in that position, given Mourinho’s comments.