Wales worries about the fitness level of Gareth Bale

Gareth Bale played, scored and won the 2022 MLS Cup with the Los Angeles FC on Saturday after beating the Philadelphia Union in the final at the Banc of California stadium. The Welshman only played 23 minutes, but that was enough to score a late screamer to equalize the game in overtime and LAFC shut out Philadelphia in a penalty shootout.

“It is special. The reason why I came here [LAFC] is to try and help the club win a trophy, the MLS Cup obviously. They came close in the past, but never made it to the final and won it. So yeah it was a big goal and you can see how happy everyone is,” said Bale after the game.

Bale has not reached full fitness

Even though Bale delivered in the biggest game of the season, he didn’t help LAFC reach the final because he has been dealing with injuries since arriving in mid-July. During the regular season the 33-year-old only made 12 appearances, two as a starter, for a total of 346 minutes and only played once during the playoffs, which was in the final.

In fact, the only time that Gareth Bale played 90 minutes this year was with Wales in the 1-0 defeat over Poland during the September international window. Since then, he is usually brought in as a substitute for club and country because he has been dealing with injuries for a long time and he explained why he only played 23 minutes in the MLS Cup final during the post-game press conference.

“I am not 100% at the moment. Obviously, I am still coming back. I still have a few little issues like most players do. We spoke about if I am needed for the last 20-30 minutes, then I am available, because I haven’t trained much over the last 3-4 weeks due to a slight issue. But I was able to come on in the last 20-30 minutes to give as much as I can and I’m glad I came up with a goal to help the team, but that’s what I am here to do I guess,” said Bale.

“I’m feeling better and better as time goes on. I’ve had a few setbacks with a slight knock a couple of weeks ago that kept me out for 10 days. So it’s been difficult mentally leading into the World Cup, because you see so many players dropping out and now they are missing the World Cup. So it has been difficult mentally and I am sure it has been for a lot of players, playing, leading into this World Cup and it has played a part in the back of my mind trying to make sure I am 100% fit,” added the former Real Madrid striker.

So the big question for the Wales national team ahead of the start of the World Cup is if Gareth Bale will be fit to start in the group stage opener against the United States in less than two weeks. Also, how can Bale help Wales in each of the three matches of the group stage and how much will they depend on his performances to aspire to advance to the next round.