Bale back training with squad and is available for Rayo game

The biggest news in Real Madrid's training session on Thursday was the return of Gareth Bale. Los Blancos now begin preparations for their upcoming game against Rayo Vallecano (Saturday 16:00 CET) as they look to crank up the pressure on Barcelona and Atlético Madrid in a increasingly tight run-in at the end of the LaLiga season.

After being sidelined for Madrid’s victory over Villarreal through a muscle strain picked up against Getafe, the Welshman joined the rest of his team-mates in a session overseen by coach Zinedine Zidane, with Bale working on running and shooting before concluding the session with the rest of the squad.

Bale was recently at the centre of a club-storm after it was reported he had played 36 holes (two rounds)  after finishing the game against Getafe in the Coliseum with an injury. The golf trip reportedly riled Zidane after the Real striker had complained of discomfort on Monday and was subsequently unavailable for the Villarreal game.

Elsewhere, Thursday’s session saw Kroos train alone, while those who played the most minutes against the Yellow Submarine trained in the gym, with Cristiano Ronaldo undergoing tests after limping off in the Bernabéu.