Tottenham Hotspur boss Jose Mourinho said on Friday that Gareth Bale will “probably” play against West Ham United in the Premier League on Sunday, in what would be his first Spurs appearance after rejoining the club on loan from Real Madrid.
The Wales international has spent the past two weeks training after a knee injury delayed his return to the Spurs side after seven years in Spain.
“Of course he wants to play,” Mourinho said. “He wanted to play since the day he arrived, but it was not possible.
“I am not going to tell you if he is going to play. What I can tell you is that he is working very well, he is working in the way he was not able to do for a long time. The last week, especially Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, the planning of the sessions had a big focus on him and he is in pretty good condition.”
Mourinho confirmed that Harry Kane will start the game on Sunday having arrived back from international duty fit.
Eric Dier is a doubt due to the injury he picked up with England, while Giovani Lo Celso and Japhet Tanganga are out injured.
Mourinho described his chairman Daniel Levy as a “genius” for his work in the transfer window this summer.
Along with Bale, Spurs brought Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg, Matt Doherty, Joe Hart, Sergio Reguilon and Carlos Vinicius to the club.
“Mr Levy showed once more that when he wants and when he is really involved he is a genius in the way he makes deals happen,” he said. “More than I was expecting. We were talking about different targets but I never thought we would go so far as we did, but I can only praise what the board did for the team.”