Gareth Bale has been named in the Wales squad for their World Cup play-off final against Scotland or Ukraine despite recent back trouble as they seek to qualify for the tournament for the first time since 1958.

The captain has made just two substitute appearances for Real Madrid since scoring both goals in Wales’s 2-1 World Cup play-off victory over Austria on March 24.

The 32-year-old has been absent from Real’s past five matchday squads with a back problem but has returned to training in the Spanish capital and is on course to be available for the club’s Champions League final clash against Liverpool on May 28.

Continue reading this article on SportsDesk, the sports website of the Times of Malta

Sign up to our free newsletters

Get the best updates straight to your inbox:
Please select at least one mailing list.

You can unsubscribe at any time by clicking the link in the footer of our emails. We use Mailchimp as our marketing platform. By subscribing, you acknowledge that your information will be transferred to Mailchimp for processing.