The Real Champs
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Real Madrid: 5 takeaways from official squad against Club Brugge

By Kevin Parvizi

MADRID, SPAIN - OCTOBER 30: Sergio Ramos of Real Madrid celebrates goal 2-0 during the La Liga Santander match between Real Madrid v Leganes at the Santiago Bernabeu on October 30, 2019 in Madrid Spain (Photo by David S. Bustamante/Soccrates/Getty Images)
MADRID, SPAIN - OCTOBER 30: Sergio Ramos of Real Madrid celebrates goal 2-0 during the La Liga Santander match between Real Madrid v Leganes at the Santiago Bernabeu on October 30, 2019 in Madrid Spain (Photo by David S. Bustamante/Soccrates/Getty Images) /
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Real Madrid RW Gareth Bale
VITORIA-GASTEIZ, SPAIN – NOVEMBER 30: Gareth Bale of Real Madrid controls the ball during the Liga match between Deportivo Alaves and Real Madrid CF at Estadio de Mendizorroza on November 30, 2019 in Vitoria-Gasteiz, Spain. (Photo by TF-Images/Getty Images) /

Gareth Bale is back

Gareth Bale missed Saturday’s 2-0 win over Espanyol with a hamstring injury, and there were fears he could be out against Club Brugge and Valencia. His importance to Real has grown due to Eden Hazard’s ankle injury, which is serious enough to keep him out until 2020.

But Bale was able to return to practice on Sunday before Wednesday’s game at Brugge. Now that he’s officially in the lineup, it looks like he has a real shot at playing on Wednesday. Or, at least, he has a real shot at being on the bench and potentially joining the fray as a “tune up” for Sunday’s big game against Valencia.

Zinedine Zidane usually likes to give veteran players coming off an injury some extra rest, so it’s unclear if Bale will start in his first game back from this hamstring injury. He looked good as a substitute against Real Sociedad and PSG a couple of weeks ago but did struggle as a starter last week against Deportivo Alaves.

Real Madrid will want to make sure Bale is 100-percent for El Clasico on Dec. 18, but they’ll also want to make sure he’s ready to play at his best against Valencia on Sunday. It’s all about finding a balance with the right winger.

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