adminMADRID. — Gareth Bale believes he isn’t fit to last 90 minutes for Real Madrid in his homecoming to Cardiff for the Champions League final against Juventus on Saturday and admitted taking painkillers to play earlier this season. Bale hasn’t featured since suffering the latest in a series of calf injuries that have plagued his time in Madrid, against Barcelona on April 23.
However, he claimed he has paid the price from rushing back from ankle ligament damage suffered in November and that his right ankle still hasn’t fully recovered.“I am not 100 percent, I haven’t played for six or seven weeks,” Bale said yesterday.
“I obviously had my operation which still really hasn’t recovered.
“I have been playing with a lot of pain, even when I came back I was taking tablets to get through games and training.
“The last six or seven weeks have enabled me to rest my ankle a bit and really try to get it a bit better, and obviously recover from the injury which it caused.” — AFP.
Online Reporter