Bale has made only two substitute appearances since picking up a back injury against Newcastle two months ago, but is now back in full training and could start Saturday's London derby against West Ham.

Dawson has watched Bale's rise to stardom at close hand this year, with the 21-year-old grabbing the world's attention with a hat-trick at Inter Milan in October before going on to embarrass full-back Maicon in the reverse fixture the following month.

Dawson's excellent performances at the heart of the Spurs' defence mean he is likely to get a call-up from Fabio Capello for the game in Wales a week on Saturday, with Bale sure to play if he is fully fit.

Capello rates Bale as the best left winger in the world and Dawson admits the Three Lions will find it hard to shackle the former Southampton man now that he is firing on all cylinders again.

"How do you stop Gareth Bale? That's a good question," Dawson told Spurs TV Online.

"If I am in the England squad, people will be asking me how.

"It's very hard to stop Gaz. Sometimes he is just unstoppable. Many a team have tried this season.

"Before his back injury, he was flying. He's back in full training now and he is certainly looking like he was before he left so hopefully we will see the best of him against West Ham and not against England a week later."

Spurs will move back into fourth place with a win over the Hammers on Saturday, with closest rivals Chelsea and Manchester City playing each other the following day.

Harry Redknapp's side have slipped behind the Blues in their hunt for a Champions League place recently thanks to a defeat at Blackpool and a draw at Wolves.

The club's fight for a top four place will be much harder if reports that William Gallas will be out for a month are confirmed.

Tottenham are assessing the Frenchman's hamstring after he pulled up in training yesterday and he will miss both legs of the Champions League quarter-finals if he is ruled out for a month.

Dawson, who is likely to be paired with Ledley King on Saturday if Gallas is not available, is desperate for Spurs to remove the two point gap that separates his team and Chelsea.

"Our aim is to finish fourth," Dawson added.

"Each and every game is now like a cup final for us because we need to get the points on the board and hopefully we will be playing in the Champions League next year."

Dawson's team-mate Sandro revealed today that he is finally starting to feel like "part of the family" at White Hart Lane after forcing his way into the first team with two excellent performances against AC Milan.

The Brazil international, who turned 22 yesterday, had only made six senior starts before he was thrown into the starting XI in the first leg at the San Siro last month, but he performed well, earning him a start in the return leg.

The £6.5million summer signing from Internacional is glad that he was patient in his wait to show that he can perform at the top level.

"I know I have had to wait for my opportunity but it came in a big match against AC Milan," Sandro said.

"I was happy with my performances and I feel like I am part of the family at Spurs.

"I really enjoyed the moment with the Spurs supporters and the team, but this is in the past now and we're looking to the future and the next match."

The club announced today that Jonathan Obika has been recalled two months early from his loan spell at Swindon while forward Simon Dawkins has joined Major League Soccer side San Jose Earthquakes until the end of December.

A scan revealed Gallas had not suffered a fresh hamstring injury.