What Tottenham is Looking for from Gareth Bale Sunday
By Aaron Coe
If Not 90 How Much for Bale
Since the turn of 2020 Gareth Bale has made eight appearances in all competitions for club AND country. Six of those appearances were with Real Madrid for a total of 398 minutes, an average of just over an hour an appearance. The last time Gareth Bale went 90 minutes at the club level was January 4 of 2020. Madrid played 25 matches over that span, meaning Bale played less than 20% of all the possible minutes.
Internationally, Gareth Bale has twice captained Wales this year, his two matches in September; where he first played 45 minutes, then played 90 a few days later. Those were the last two matches Bale played and he has been recovering from the knock picked up on that September international duty ever since.
Given the layoff, lack of minutes, and return from injury to safe to say Bale will not go for 90 minutes on Sunday. He plays a half at most, but most likely just a 25-30-minute run out toward the end of the match. With Son, Bergwijn, and Moura all fit and not coming off injury or international duty why risk it. 30 minutes of Bale should be enough time, to get him acclimated to the pace and set him up for more minutes, possibly even an hour midweek with Europa League.