‘He looks happier than ever’ – Mourinho provides promising update on high-profile player

Jose Mourinho has revealed he believes that Gareth Bale is happier than ever at Tottenham Hotspur.

The Welshman has been showing some of his quality in recent matches for the North Londoners.

Bale was impressive in both legs of the Europa League round of 32 against Wolfsberger and was Tottenham’s brightest player after coming off the bench in last weekend’s defeat at West Ham United.

Mourinho claims that by watching the 31-year-old in training, his confidence looks to be back after a difficult time following his return to the club.

Bale re-joined Tottenham in the summer on a season long loan from Real Madrid and had seen his progress hampered by injuries.

Mourinho suggested that previous injuries can cause a player to have a mental concern about their fitness when they are looking to return to full fitness.

The Portuguese gave Spurs fans optimism by claiming that Bale is now in the best condition since returning to the club.

He told Football.London: “I think the mental is always a consequence of the physical. If a player feels great, if he is playing 100 per cent and if the feelings are all good there are no psychological problems or fears or barriers,”

“When you have little worries and especially when you have a recent history of injuries it’s normal to have some fears and these fears have a consequence, but lately he has been fine.

“It’s just a question of how many minutes he can play and how many days he needs to recover between matches.

“He looks happier than ever, he looks confident. In training you can see he has his confidence back, the way he hits his shots.

“You could see from his goal on Wednesday. It was a confident shot. A player with fear or negative feelings would never have hit that type of shot. To strike the ball that way, I think that strike means a lot.

“It means freedom. It means freedom in relation to the brain muscle. For this you need to be in a good condition. He is in the best condition since he arrived.”