Gareth Bale is set to return to first team action after more than two months out injured when Real Madrid face Espanyol on Saturday night.
The Wales international required ankle surgery in November and wasn’t expected back to first-team action until the return leg of their last 16 clash with Napoli in the Champions League at the start of next month.
However, Bale has been included in the Madrid squad that is set to face Espanyol this weekend as Zinedine Zidane looks to give the 27-year-old minutes as he steps up his return from injury.
“Bale is already with us,” AS quote Zidane as saying. “He is in the squad and the idea is for him to get minutes.”
Bale played a direct hand in five goals in his last six matches before picking up an ankle injury against Sporting in November and his return will give Madrid a serious chance of landing a league and Champions League double.
For more stats on Gareth Bale, click here to visit his WhoScored player page
