‘Bale will likely get injured again’

Chris Coleman has criticised Real Madrid for playing Gareth Bale when unfit and suggested that his current injury may not be the last he has this season.

The 24-year-old has struggled for full fitness in the Spanish capital since completing a late summer transfer from Tottenham and his national team Coach believes that this is down to Madrid’s early insistence on playing him without a preseason.

“We have spoken to the doctor and we will be without him, but we said all along it is very tough for him to have had no pre-season and be thrown in at the deep end,” Coleman reported to the media after Bale’s quick withdrawal from his latest squad named yesterday.

“I would never criticise another manager – Carlo Ancelotti is a brilliant manager – but La Liga football is a different tempo to the Premier League.

“The Premier League is the fastest so maybe Carlo is thinking Gareth can handle it, he’s a super athlete.

“But in our last camp he was nowhere near fit. He had a reaction on the morning of the Macedonia game, that is why we used him for only 35 minutes against Serbia last month.

“You have to put things in perspective. What has happened to him with the move, he must feel under pressure.

“He is probably trying too hard to do things that come naturally to him. Physically he is not there, he is not ready and he might not be for some time.

“If you don’t do a pre-season, no matter how good you are, you always play catch up for the season. This season might be a tough one for him, as good as he is.

“I hope I am wrong, but I do not think this will be the last injury this season for Bale.”

Bale is believed to be using the upcoming international break to undergo a mini preseason at Valdebebas.

Tags Ancelotti Bale Coleman Wales
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