Winger Gareth Bale missed Tottenham Hotspur's clash with Chelsea in the Premier League on Saturday because his partner went into labour just two hours before kickoff.

The 23-year-old was included in the Spurs lineup for the game at White Hart Lane but was later replaced by Tom Huddlestone, as he had to rush back to Cardiff to be with Emma Rhys-Jones, who gave birth to a baby girl on Sunday.

"It would have prevented him playing with the right frame of mind and we respect that," Tottenham manager Andre Villas-Boas is quoted as saying by the Daily Mail. "That is why he wasn't involved today."

Tottenham lost the match 4-2.