La-Liga

Zidane glad to have Bale, Navas, Kovacic back

The returns of Gareth Bale, Keylor Navas and Mateo Kovacic left Real Madrid coach Zinedine Zidane pleased.

Dejan Kalinic
29 November, 2017 11:13 IST

Wales international Bale came off the bench to set up Madrid's equaliser for 1-1 as the LaLiga giant reached the last 16 of the Copa del Rey.   -  Getty Images

Dejan Kalinic
29 November, 2017 11:13 IST

Real Madrid coach Zinedine Zidane is happy to have Gareth Bale, Keylor Navas and Mateo Kovacic back and available after the trio made their returns.

Bale (groin), Navas (hamstring) and Kovacic (thigh) returned in Madrid's shock 2-2 draw at home to third-tier side Fuenlabrada in the Copa del Rey on Tuesday.

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Wales international Bale came off the bench to set up Madrid's equaliser for 1-1 as the LaLiga giant reached the last 16.

Zidane is glad the trio are back and available for selection as his side looks to try to catch league leader and rival Barcelona, which it trails by eight points.

"I'm so happy for Gareth, Keylor and Mateo because they've been out for a while," the Frenchman said.

"They're key players and seeing that they're ready for these next games makes me happy.

"I thought that Keylor did well and he's pleased with things. I don't think that he could have done any better on the first goal."

Madrid visits Athletic Bilbao on Saturday before a Champions League meeting with Borussia Dortmund.

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