Could Gareth Bale make his return for Real Madrid against Fuenlabrada?
By Alex McVey
Gareth Bale has been struggling with injuries this season. But, Real Madrid may have him available for their mid-week clash against Fuenlabrada.
At the beginning of this season, Gareth Bale was finally starting to display the kind of form that had him previously labelled as one of the best in the world. He was a center-piece of Madrid’s attack, and was beginning to form an important strike partnership with Cristiano Ronaldo in lieu of Karim Benzema.
But then, Bale’s recurring injury problems flared up again. First, it was his long-term injury to his soleus muscle in his calf, which flared up in early October ahead of a Wales training session. It looked like Bale was on track to return in early November, but then he suffered a new injury, this time to his adductor muscle in his left thigh.
It’s now do-or-die time for Gareth Bale at Real Madrid. The Welsh attacker needs to find form, and find form quickly if he wants any chance at salvaging his Real Madrid career. Reports have suggested that his latest injury spell was the straw that broke the camels back, and that now Madrid is ready to recoup their losses by selling the player on. Bale has missed 40 of the last 60 Real Madrid matches due to injury.
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When on form, Bale is an absolutely unsellable player. But his positive qualities matter little if we never get to see them in action on the pitch. Bale’s agent recently stressed to the media that Bale isn’t going anywhere, and that he plans on retiring at Madrid, regardless of what Spanish media outlets say about him. But if he wants to make that dream a reality, he’s going to need to make an impression in the tail end of this season.
Fortunately for Madrid manager Zinedine Zidane, it looks like Gareth Bale might be set to return to action against Fuenlabrada in Real Madrid’s midweek Copa del Rey fixture. Zidane suggested to the press ahead of the Fuenlabrada match that Bale would play, although it would be questionable just how many minutes he would get.
Zidane made a big mistake last season in trying to rush Bale back from injury, only to see him go down again immediately upon his return. It’s good to see Zidane playing it safe with Bale this season. If Bale wants to turn things around at Madrid, it’s important that he balances the need to remind Madridistas of his importance to the squad, with the need to avoid rushing back from injury.
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