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Bale to make return against Espanyol, Zidane confirms

Andrea Comas / Reuters

Real Madrid manager Zinedine Zidane confirmed to reporters Friday that he intends to give Gareth Bale some playing time in Saturday's match against Espanyol, the first time the Welsh star will feature since he underwent ankle surgery in November.

"Bale is with us now, tomorrow he will be in the squad," Zidane said, according to Dermot Corrigan of ESPN FC. "The idea we have, for sure, is that he gets minutes.

"We all know the quality he has, how important he is for our team with his pace and the damage he can do opponents. So we are happy, but most important is that he is very happy to be back with the team, very excited about returning to action."

The 27-year-old attacker has been sidelined for the better part of the last three months as a result of an ankle injury he sustained against Sporting Lisbon on Nov. 22, which the club diagnosed as a "traumatic dislocation of the peroneal tendons in his right ankle."

He returned to full team training earlier in the week but was not ready in time for his side's Champions League tilt against Napoli. Instead, Bale is set to return to action in front of the home faithful at the Santiago Bernabeu in a league fixture against Catalan outfit Espanyol.

It may prove the perfect fodder for Bale, who will relish an easier opponent as he seeks a return to form; Espanyol has failed to score in 14 of the last 18 meetings between the two sides and suffered a 6-0 loss against Madrid in last season's Bernabeu visit.

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