Real Madrid Given Major Injury Boost, Gareth Bale Returns to First Team Training
Real Madrid have received an injury boost ahead of Sunday's game against Las Palmas, with Gareth Bale returning to training with the hopes of earning a place on the bench against the relegation-threatened Gran Canarian team.
The game is Bale's last chance to get a sliver of first team action before going away with Wales in the upcoming international break, with a crucial Madrid derby looming at Los Blancos' first game back after the pause in league action.
Marca report that Friday's training session was the first time the Wales international has worked out with his teammates since suffering the calf injury in September, and a second session on Saturday could see him force his way into Zinedine Zidane's matchday 18.
Dani Carvajal and Raphael Varane also worked out with their teammates - the latter expecting to start on the weekend after missing Wednesday night's humbling at the hands of Tottenham at Wednesday.
Carvajal's status is less clear as he works his way back from a heart scare, but Cristiano Ronaldo admitted this week that the sooner the right-back and Bale come back into contention, the better off Real will be.
"The players who arrived this summer have a lot of potential," he said. "Pepe, Alvaro Morata and James Rodriguez made us stronger, but those in the squad today are younger. We also need Carvajal and Bale back. It is not a worse squad but it has less experience and that is very important. It's not an excuse, I'm happy and the alarms are not going off."
