London: Tottenham Hotspur winger Gareth Bale grabbed the attention of the football world and destroyed the reputation of one of the game’s top right backs the last time he came up against Inter Milan.

The teams meet again on Thursday — and there’s no danger of Bale flying under the radar this time.

The Wales winger’s goal-scoring exploits for Spurs this season are receiving global acclaim and he has scored 10 times in his last eight matches heading into the first leg of the Europa League’s standout last-16 match.

“He’s one of the best players in the world at the moment, and probably the best in the world for me right now,” Spurs captain Michael Dawson said. “Some of the things he does would have (Cristiano) Ronaldo blush.”

In 2010, Bale scored a hat-trick in Spurs’ 3-4 loss to Inter in a Champions League group game at the San Siro. In the return match at White Hart Lane, Bale tore apart the Inter defence in Spurs’ 3-1 win, humiliating right back Maicon time and again.

Inter’s defenders will know what to expect on Thursday and are sure to keep a close eye on Bale, who has been urged to play in a more central position in recent matches by manager Andre Villas-Boas rather than being stuck out on the left wing.

Inter, meanwhile, have been preoccupied by the antics of one of their own stars.

Antonio Cassano was dropped from the squad for Sunday’s win over Catania in Serie A after a training ground scuffle with manager Andrea Stramaccioni. The Italy striker is back in contention now, though, and should start on Thursday.

“It’s only normal that there will be a few discussions, especially when the results aren’t coming and the tension is high,” Inter midfielder Stankovic said.

“As Esteban Cambiasso said, let’s pretend Cassano was suspended and now he’s back. It happened, but it wasn’t so serious. In fact, I try to look on the positive side and I say this was good for Inter, as sometimes you need a little shake-up.”

Inter will need Cassano on top form, having already lost another forward, Diego Milito, for the season with a knee injury.

Spurs are likely to be without striker Emmanuel Adebayor, who hurt his right knee in the 2-1 win over Arsenal in the Premier League on Sunday.

There will be a new name on the Europa League trophy after the elimination of Atletico Madrid by Rubin Kazan in the last-32.

Kazan’s reward is a match against Levante, which is in freefall in the Spanish league after losing five of their last eight matches but was impressive in their 4-0 aggregate win over Olympiakos in the Europa League’s first knockout stage.