Jose Mourinho has claimed that Gareth Bale’s return to fitness at Tottenham this season has been a difficult process due to Premier League minutes and a recent injury.
Bale has made just one start for Tottenham in the Premier League since returning, playing 160 minutes across four appearances in the competition in total (TransferMarkt).
The Welshman has received the vast majority of his minutes in the Europa League since his loan move from Real Madrid, although Mourinho admitted that the intensity was different to the Premier League.
During his final season with Real Madrid, Bale made just 20 appearances across all competitions, scoring three goals and assisting two more (TransferMarkt).
TransferMarkt also list 11 different injuries since the start of 2019 for the Welsh winger, with Mourinho labelling his injury at Stoke as a costly one, as Bale was enjoying a fine performance up until then.
The Spurs head coach will surely be hoping to increase Bale’s Premier League minutes across the remainder of the season in order to see his best form in a Lilywhite shirt.
Mourinho said (Football London): “Of course you know he arrived injured for the first month and the Europa League group phase is a different intensity so in the Premier League didn’t play a lot of minutes.
“Then an injury against Stoke where he was having a good first half. Not an easy process.”
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