Zinedine Zidane: 'Gareth Bale has an important year ahead'

Gareth Bale during the Champions League match between Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid on May 28, 2016
© SilverHub
Zinedine Zidane acknowledges that Real Madrid forward Gareth Bale faces "an important year" after missing large parts of last season through injury.

Real Madrid manager Zinedine Zidane has insisted that Gareth Bale is feeling positive after putting last season's injury nightmare behind him.

The Wales international failed to find any sort of momentum in a memorable 2016-17 for Los Blancos, missing nearly half the campaign through injury.

Bale has had a solid pre-season campaign, however, and featured for a combined 155 minutes in Madrid's UEFA Super Cup triumph over Manchester United and the first leg of the Supercopa de Espana win over Barcelona at Camp Nou.

Speaking to reporters ahead of Sunday's league opener against Deportivo La Coruna, Zidane said: "[Bale is] good, training well and that's the most important thing.

"He had few chances last year with four months of injury, now he's well, he's enjoyed very good preparation and I hope it's an important year for him and for us."

Speculation linking Bale with a return to the Premier League with Man United refuses to go away, despite Jose Mourinho publicly ruling out a move earlier this month.

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TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Real Sociedad22006246
2Real Madrid11003033
3Barcelona11002023
4EibarEibar11001013
5Leganes11001013
6Levante11001013
7Valencia11001013
8Atletico MadridAtletico10102201
9GironaGirona10102201
10Espanyol10101101
11Sevilla10101101
12Athletic Bilbao10100001
13Getafe10100001
14Celta Vigo100123-10
15AlavesAlaves100101-10
16Las PalmasLas Palmas100101-10
17Malaga100101-10
18Real Betis100102-20
19Deportivo La CorunaDeportivo100103-30
20Villarreal200204-40
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