Bale, 105 days later

Twenty games later, Gareth Bale is back on a Carlo Ancelotti list. The Italian coach has included the Welshman among the 25 called up for tomorrow’s derby Sunday (9pm, Movistar LaLiga) against Atlético. The presence of the Briton on the local bench at the Bernabéu is not yet final, because the Madrid coach will still have to make two discards before the game against the rojiblancos.

Gareth Bale has not played for Real Madrid since August 28, 2021, 105 days ago. Then he started (he was also in the starting eleven in the first two games of the season) and played 66 minutes against Betis, in the third match of the League. Since then, he has only seen him again with Madrid in the training uniform.

The winger returned injured from the three appointments he faced with Wales in the first national team break in September. A hamstring problem kept him in the dry dock for a month and a half. Without having reappeared with Madrid, he recovered in time for the last two matches of his team in the qualifying group for the World Cup. He played 45 minutes in the first game against Belarus, but a new physical problem prevented him from playing against Belgium and also in the six games that Madrid have faced since that FIFA date.

Bale increases the competition in a position that has been the hottest in Ancelotti’s eleven. The only one, practically, in which the Madrid coach has been open to changes. Asensio and Rodrygo are his main options, but he has also opted for Lucas Vázquez. At the press conference, Carletto he held out his hand to Bale. “He can play. I don’t know if he is going to play from the beginning. I have to assess whether he is ready to play the game and has the motivation to do so. He is fine, ready to play from the beginning of the game,” he said. Ancelotti, who in the first three games of the season already placed his trust in the Welshman.