By Harry Corish
Gareth Bale insists he is match fit and refused to be drawn on his absence from ‘El Clasico’ amid recent Madrid controversy.
The Real Madrid star batted away any concerns about his fitness and is ready for what could be his biggest night in a Welsh shirt.
Whilst he has not featured much for Madrid this season, Bale has been in fine form for Wales, scoring three goals and recording three assists in his last five games for his country.
He is now looking to help his team qualify for their first World Cup finals in 64 years and stresses that his full focus is on Wales.
Gareth Bale is flying in training according to Neco Williams 🙌 pic.twitter.com/N00mJyokUK
— Mirror Football (@MirrorFootball) March 23, 2022
“I don’t need to tell anyone what was up and I don’t need to give anyone anything to use against me. Everything’s fine now. I have no issue and I’m ready to go tomorrow,” said Bale.
Bale has struggled with injuries throughout his career, but insists he is feeling ready to play.
“Obviously its normal to get some niggles now and again, but I’ve been good. I’ve been training for the last two and a half months. I got some minutes three weeks or so ago, so no, I’m in very good shape.
“I’m in a lot better shape than I was last camp where I’d been out for about three months.
“I’ve been training the last couple of days and I’m ready to give everything I can tomorrow evening.”
Wales boss Rob Page was also coy when speaking about the Welshman’s injury situation, but spoke about his fitness in relation to the game on Thursday.
“I’m not going to go into details or specifics,” said Page.
“It’s not an issue now, he’s trained today so that’s behind us and we are all moving forward, and he’s right for the game on Thursday.
“The niggle he had, which kept him out of Madrid’s game against Barcelona and the first day of our camp, barring that he’s been training every single day with the team so he’s fit.”
Cymru captain Gareth Bale trains with the group and is fit to face Austria.
🏴 pic.twitter.com/EhbtfK6WRG
— Red Wall News 🏴 (@RedWallNews1) March 22, 2022
Page insists that his captain has been training well with the team and is not concerned about his durability for the entirety of the game.
“He was that fit, he was in a position where they (Real Madrid) contemplated on starting him. I’m not worried about his fitness.
“He’s had a little blip with a little niggle, but he’s had two good days training and today he was exceptional.”
