Wales Coach Chris Coleman has confirmed that he is open to resting Real Madrid’s Gareth Bale in future international friendlies.
The 24-year-old has had his fitness placed under increased scrutiny since a late summer move from Tottenham Hotspur to Real Madrid.
Whilst he played the full 90 minutes in Wales’ 1-1 draw with Finland on Saturday, Bale’s manager has indicated that he may benefit from the occasional rest from the international scene in the future.
“If Bale’s fighting fit then great, we expect him to be here. If he is fatigued, we might rest him.,” Coleman told reporters this week.
“To be fair to him, in my two years the only friendly he missed was against Mexico with a back injury. He was there for the games against Bosnia and Austria.
“But he’s playing a lot of games in Madrid. We have to look at it long-term as well. As much as we need him, we need to look after him.
“He’ll probably say he wants to play in every game, [but] for the bigger picture it might be worth us saying: ‘Just miss this one’.”
Coleman also spoke of how he and his backroom staff will meet with Madrid Coach Carlo Ancelotti and company in the coming weeks to determine how to handle Bale.
It will reunite Coleman with Ancelotti’s current assistant Paul Clement, on from their time together at Fulham.
“That's a dialogue we have to have with Madrid. I spoke with Gareth on Friday. We are going to go over and speak with their whole staff to bring ourselves closer to Madrid.
“We have to build bridges. We need them with us. They have to know and be comfortable that when he comes with us, we know what we are doing with how we prepare because he has a special programme in Madrid regarding his rehabilitation.
“They have to feel comfortable that when he's with us we are doing everything to send him back in one piece.”
