Tottenham Hotspur manager Jose Mourinho said he would not just give Gareth Bale playing time and that the Welshman must earn minutes by showing consistency in training.
Bale’s return on loan from Real Madrid was greeted with much excitement at Spurs but his impact has been minimal. The 31-year-old has spent most of his time on the bench, starting only one Premier League game and featuring mainly in the Europa League. “I cannot give players minutes—minutes on the pitch is not something I can give,” Mourinho told reporters.
“We all know the difficulties that he had for a couple of seasons... The most important thing is to be consistent in training... when a player is consistent in training then he is ready, not to be given minutes but to earn minutes.
“He is working every minute like everybody else at a good intensity and let’s see the way that he reacts... It is also about his confidence. If he feels that the week has had a positive impact on him and, on his confidence, he will play.”
Elsewhere, Leicester City striker Jamie Vardy is likely to return to the pitch sooner than expected after undergoing a minor hernia operation, manager Brendan Rodgers said on Sunday.
Rodgers said earlier this week that Vardy, their top scorer with 13 goals in all competitions this season, would miss a “few weeks” when the 34-year-old went under the knife.
“The likelihood is a week to 10 days before he’s back on to the pitch and then a few days more before he’s available,” Rodgers told reporters after their 3-1 FA Cup win at Brentford.
“He won’t lose too much fitness, it’s only a minor operation. We can cope without him at this point and then he will be fit and raring to go for the remainder of the season.”
Leicester play Everton, Leeds United, Fulham and Wolverhampton Wanderers in the league in the coming weeks before hosting champions Liverpool on Feb. 13. They also have a cup tie against Brighton & Hove Albion on Feb. 10.
