Wales manager Chris Coleman has said Real Madrid rushed Gareth Bale into first team action too soon and they his injury problems are a result of that.
The former Tottenham Hotspur player joined Los Blancos in a 91 million euro deal but has made a stuttering start to life in Madrid. He scored on his debut against Villarreal, but pulled out injury in the warm up against Getafe, and then missed the midweek Champions League win over FC Copenhagen.
Real boss Carlo Ancelotti has said Bale will miss the next two weeks with his thigh problem, and instead of linking up with his national side, will remain in Madrid to recover and build up his fitness in time for El Clasico against Barcelona at the end of October.
Speaking ahead of Wales’ World Cup qualifiers next week, Coleman, who used to manager Real Sociedad, said he did not want to be critical of fellow managers, but felt Bale’s situation at Real Madrid had been handled badly.
“I would never criticise another manager — Carlo Ancelotti is a brilliant manager — but La Liga football is a different tempo to the Premier League. The Premier League is the fastest, so maybe Carlo is thinking Gareth can handle it, he’s a super athlete. But in our last camp, he was nowhere near fit,” he said.
He added:”What has happened to him with the move, he must feel under pressure. He is probably trying too hard to do things that come naturally to him. Physically he is not there, he is not ready and he might not be for some time.
“If you don’t do a pre-season, no matter how good you are, you always play catch-up for the season. This season might be a tough one for him, as good as he is.”
