Eighty-eight days later, Gareth Bale returned to action with Real Madrid and scored 13 minutes after coming off the bench, but insisted it will still be a few weeks before he is fully fit. The Welshman expects to be ready for Wales’s World Cup qualifier in Dublin on 24 March. He said he had undergone a “tough time” with the ankle injury that has kept him out of action for three months, and for now was “happy just to be on the pitch”.

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Bale suffered the injury on 22 November when the peroneal tendon came away from his right ankle, and he had surgery in London. He finally rejoined his team-mates in training this week. Zinedine Zidane had said before the game against Espanyol that he intended to give Bale some time to enable him to participate as he completes his rehabilitation, and he came on to replace Álvaro Morata with 20 minutes remaining.

The Bernabéu gave him a huge roar as he came on, with the score at 1-0. He was soon celebrating after he ran on to Isco’s pass, into the penalty area and controlled the ball with one touch before hitting a low, left-footed shot into the far corner beyond Diego López to get the second in a 2-0 victory.

“To get a goal is an extra bonus and I’m thankful to help the team and see the game off,” Bale said. “I’ve been out for three months so it will take a few weeks to get back to 100 per cent, it’s just about managing my game time now.

“I’ve only been back training five days so we’ll try and build everything up until I can play 90 minutes. It depends how I feel game by game. Today was 20 [minutes]. I will speak with the manager about Valencia and Villarreal [Madrid’s next two matches this coming week] and hopefully just building up to [fitness].

“I plan not to get injured any more so hopefully now I can keep building my fitness up over the next few weeks, the next three, four, five games and hopefully I can be fit for Real Madrid as soon as possible to play 90 minutes, and obviously for Wales as well.”

Bale’s first action was to challenge David López near his own corner flag and he appeared to be trying to ease his way through the game, holding back, seemingly cautious about breaking into a sprint – something that he confirmed afterwards. But then space opened up, Isco received the ball and he set off up the left to score. At the final whistle, he was the last off the pitch, applauding supporters around the stadium.

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“I was trying to be clever coming back. You don’t want to go 100 per cent into a sprint and pull a hamstring,” he said. “It’s just about getting back to match pace. There were a few times when maybe I could have knocked it and gone, but I wanted to be patient and build my confidence. It was my first game back and we were 1-0 up, it wasn’t as if we were losing. Then obviously when I had the chance to go I went. I had to pick my right moment and to build it slowly. Three months is a long time out.”

Bale said that lay-off may mean he is fresher as the season enters the decisive final months. “Every cloud has a silver lining; hopefully I am a bit fresher than maybe some others,” he said. “It can work in my advantage to be out for a little bit but the important thing now is to get back to 100 per cent and playing well, and to help the team.

“There have been some tough moments but we have an amazing medical team here, Jaime Benito has been incredible for me, my family have been amazing, my fiancee, my kids. It’s been a difficult time but when you get a reception like that it makes it all worth it.”