Injury-hit Bale back for Real Madrid's Club World Cup push – Zidane

The French coach has hinted that the Wales star will be unavailable for the weekend but he will be part of the squad in Abu Dhabi

Gareth Bale will travel with Real Madrid to Abu Dhabi for the Club World Cup as he looks to get his injury-hit campaign back on track, Zinedine Zidane has confirmed.

The Wales international has endured a torrid time with injuries over the last year and suffered another setback after his most-recent return in the Copa Del Rey draw with Fuenlabrada – Bale having a hand in both goals as Madrid progressed 4-2 on aggregate.

Despite his impressive display from the bench, Bale was absent for Saturday’s 0-0 draw with Athletic Bilbao due to a calf problem.

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The forward will definitely miss Madrid’s Champions League clash with Borussia Dortmund on Wednesday, and Zidane is still uncertain whether he could face Sevilla in LaLiga this weekend.

Zidane does expect him to feature in the Club World Cup, though, with Madrid waiting to find out who their semi-final opponents will be on December 13.

“I don’t know yet, we’ll see if there’s an option for him to play against Sevilla,” Zidane told reporters ahead of Dortmund’s visit.

“He hasn’t trained with us yet, so we’ll need to wait and see. He’s training on his own and as soon as he’s back we’ll see what he’s capable of.

“But he’ll definitely come to Abu Dhabi.”