Gareth Frank Bale is a Welsh footballer who currently plays as a winger for Real Madrid in La Liga and the Wales national team. He began his football career as a left-back for Southampton before moving to Tottenham Hotspur before actually being seen by Real Madrid.
Gareth Bale is Wales’ all-time leading scorer and talisman, but he has struggled for fitness and game time in the final year of his Real Madrid contract.
Despite an injury scare, Gareth Bale has declared himself fully fit to start Wales’ crucial World Cup play-off semi-final this week.
Real Madrid’s 23-man lineup against Barcelona on Sunday was missing Wales captain and record scorer Gareth Bale. After his side’s 4-0 home loss to Barcelona, Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti questioned Bale’s fitness, stating the ace “didn’t feel well.”
Bale, 32, is said to have missed two days of training due to a back spasm, but he has told worried teammates and FAW staff that he will be fit to face Austria once he rejoins the Wales group. Robert Page’s team will meet Austria in a one-legged play-off semi-final in Cardiff on Thursday. If they win, they will compete in June in Cardiff against either Scotland or Ukraine for a spot in Qatar 2022.
Bale earned his 100th cap for Wales against Belarus in November but was forced to leave the game at halftime due to a calf injury. After his nine years in Madrid, where his contract expires this summer, he has had a difficult season.
Bale has only played 77 minutes of club football for the league leaders since his last appearance on August 28 against Real Betis. In September, he was hampered by a hamstring issue before hurting himself on his 100th Wales cap in November.
Since then, he has only made one La Liga start, a 0-0 tie against Villarreal, and a brief appearance in the Champions League.
