GARETH BALE has handed Wales a major World Cup boost ahead of Thursday’s play-off semi-final against Austria after taking part in training today.
The Real Madrid superstar, 32, missed Sunday’s El Clasico 4-0 hammering by Barcelona after Carlo Ancelotti said he didn’t feel well.
Gareth Bale is back in Wales training ahead of their World Cup playoff against Austria Credit: Getty Reports in Spain also claimed Bale had a ‘bad back’, but the Wales captain showed few signs of a fitness problem as he laughed and joked with his international team-mates in Cardiff.
The 100-cap star took a full part in the 20-minute session open to the media at their Vale of Glamorgan HQ.
Bale, who has played just 77 minutes of club football with Real since Wales’ last internationals in November, lined up alongside fellow stars Aaron Ramsey and Dan James.
All of Robert Page’s 26-man squad were present for the session on a glorious sunny morning on the outskirts of the Welsh capital.
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Join Sun Vegas now to get £10 free with no deposit required But Dragons’ talisman Bale was laughing and joking as the squad were initially split into two groups for stretching, running and ball work warm-up exercises.
Within his warm-up group, Bale was in a set of four including James, Burnley’s Connor Roberts and his old Tottenham pal Joe Rodon, who was part of the ‘Welsh Mafia’ in north London.
Fitness coach Ronan Kavanagh could be heard on Wales’ Instagram live telling Ramsey to go last in the running drills because he was in recovery mode.
Ramsey, who has had an injury-hit season, scored his first Rangers goal in Sunday’s 2-1 win at Dundee and Wales will be keen to manage their star midfielder before the last-four tie.
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Ethan Ampadu and Bale also followed suit and made their way to the back of their respective lines, which suggests their work loads could be lighter than the rest of the squad in the build-up to the crunch clash at the Cardiff City Stadium.
Kavanagh said: “Lads on recovery, just take it nice and easy so Rambo just be in and out. If the lads doing recovery can go last so Ethan, Rambo, Bale-o.” Bale replied: “Okay.”
James, who played for Leeds at Wolves last Friday, also wanted to be near the back of the pack.
But Bale was having none of it as he said to James: “You played Friday – that doesn’t count.”
The fitness coach asked, “Who?” before Bale pointed at the ex-Manchester United winger James.
And Kavanagh agreed with Bale, saying: “Yes, 100 per cent.”
Bale was then seen giggling as he got his way to go last in the drill.
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Russia says 10K killed in Ukraine as pro-Kremlin paper reveals cost of war The squad then went into three rondo training drills where Bale was part of the senior group alongside Ramsey, Chris Gunter, Joe Allen, Ben Davies, Jonny Williams, Rodon and James.
Wales have not reached a World Cup finals since 1958.
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
