Tottenham Hotpsur coach Joao Sacramento has confirmed that Gareth Bale will start against Antwerp in the Europa League on Thursday, as the Welshman makes his return to top form after a slow start to life back in England.
The former Real Madrid man has made just one start since returning to Spurs on a season-long loan deal this summer, with that coming in the 3-0 win over LASK last week in which Bale played his part in the home side’s second goal.
The 31-year-old had previously made a substitute appearance in the damaging 3-3 draw with West Ham United on October 18, the forward coming on for a late cameo with his side three goals to the good before a late comeback earnt the Hammers an astonishing draw.
Manager Jose Mourinho has slowly eased the Wales international back into Premier League life after a dismal end to his career in Spain that was plagued with injury and fitness woes. That being said, the man who scored 105 goals for Los Blancos is still a top talent and Spurs coach Sacramento reckons that Bale will get back to his best in the coming weeks.
“I can tell you that we will make some changes but like in every previous match, the changes don’t mean that the team is weak,” Sacramento told Spurs official website.
“We believe that with the squad that we have, even with rotation, the team will keep the level and the quality of play.
“Tomorrow, Gareth Bale will start. Gareth is improving a lot – in terms of fitness level, his condition is much, much better, he’s feeling better every day and with the interaction that we have with him, he’s feeling very positive and we believe that soon he will be at his top level again.”
Read – Rating every 17-year-old to score in Champions League history
Read Also – Champions League: Ranking the best champions of the last 10 years
