Bale Has Had Bad Luck With Injuries – Mayoral

Real Madrid temporary captain Nacho Fernandez praised Gareth Bale’s “great performance” as a substitute as Madrid survived a Copa del Rey scare on Tuesday.

And Nacho said afterwards that it was “fantastic” to have him back along with the fit-again Mateo Kovacic and Keylor Navas.

“We’re really pleased for him and he put in a great performance,” he said. “Kovacic also made his return after a long lay-off, as did Keylor. Bringing new players into the team is fantastic for us.”

Mayoral told “El Transistor” that Bale had been keen to get back after 11 games out with hamstring and calf muscle problems.

“He really wanted to get on and play, and when he came in he did great,” he said. “He put a great ball onto my head.

“He has had bad luck with injuries. Bale is a key player, and we saw that tonight.”

Nacho added that it had not been a great performance, saying: “We achieved what we set out to, which was the important thing.

“Fuenlabrada are a Segunda B side, but they’re a good team and performed very well and we’ve got to congratulate them for that.

“This was a chance for those players who don’t get as much playing time, but everyone is ready to play, regardless of the sort of game it is.

“These matches allow us to keep ourselves sharp and confident.”

“He really wanted to get on and play, and when he came in he did great,” he said. “He put a great ball onto my head.

“He has had bad luck with injuries. Bale is a key player, and we saw that tonight.”