By DAN KARELL

It will be at least another week before Gareth Bale makes his return to first team action.

After suffering a number of injuries this preseason, the Tottenham star is set to miss out on the club’s season opening English Premier League match on Saturday against Crystal Palace due to what coach Andre Villas-Boas says is “pain in his foot.”

Bale did take part in friendly matches against Brentford and Swindon Town, but has trained only on a limited basis due to a pulled gluteus muscle and now the foot pain. Bale also missed out on Wales’ match against the Republic of Ireland on Wednesday, despite joining the squad in Cardiff. The next match for Tottenham after this weekend’s match is a Europa League tie against Dinamo Tbilisi on Thursday.

The time on the sidelines has only further fanned the flames of Bale’s reported desire to move to Real Madrid. The two clubs are still negotiating, but Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy isn’t accepting anything short of £100 million. New reports have emerged that if Levy does decide to sell Bale, he may use some of the money gained to acquire Erik Lamela from AS Roma.

Here are some more stories to get your Thursday started:

PSG LINKED WITH REAL MADRID’S DI MARIA

Following a successful preseason and a strong performance with Argentina on Wednesday against Italy, Paris Saint-Germain has become the latest team linked with Real Madrid winger Angel Di Maria.

Di Maria has pledged his future to the Spanish club and has reportedly been requested by even Cristiano Ronaldo to stay at the Bernabeu, but if Madrid can acquire Gareth Bale, then Di Maria’s place could be gone in the club. Now, following reports from Spain that Sami Khedira had been offered to PSG by his agents, Di Maria could be on his way there before the end of the month.

PSG are also reportedly interested in signing Manchester United winger Nani, who would be an easier buy as he has an EU passport with Portugal. Last season, Di Maria played 52 times for Real Madrid, though it was split between substitute appearances and starts, scoring nine times in all competition.

ARSENAL COULD LOSE OUT ON GUSTAVO

Not for the first time this summer, or even in the last eight years, Arsenal are set to be outbid for a transfer target by another team.

Bayern Munich have reportedly agreed on a transfer fee of €20 million ($26.6 million) from VfL Wolfsburg for Brazilian midfielder Luiz Gustavo, as Bayern are set to cash in on the out-of-favor player. Arsenal had reportedly made a bid of €16.4 million for the 26-year-old national team member, but it seems that Arsene Wenger doesn’t want to raise his bid to above €20 million.

Arsenal look set to also miss out on Luis Suarez, who was reported on Tuesday in Uruguay to have changed his mind about leaving Liverpool, and could even sign a new contract at Anfield.

QUICK KICKS

For the third time in four games, Spain will face South American opposition, having set up a friendly match with Chile on September 10 in Geneva, Switzerland. (REPORT)

Tottenham have completed the signing of Toulouse midfielder Etienne Capoue for a fee thought to be around £9 million ($14 million). (REPORT)

With Metalist Kharkiv’s disqualification from UEFA competitions due to match-fixing, PAOK has been re-instated into the Champions League playoff-round, while Maccabi Tel Aviv has been given entry to the Europa League group stage. (REPORT)

Legia Warsaw have been fined €30,000 by UEFA and will have a partial stadium closure due to racism from the fans during a Champions League qualifying match last month. (REPORT)

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What do you think of this news? Do you see Bale featuring next Thursday? Do you believe PSG could go after Di Maria? Do you see Arsenal outbidding Wolfsburg?

Share your thoughts below.