Gareth Bale: Wales captain ready to start against Poland after year without full game

Gareth Bale was the world's most expensive footballer when he joined Real Madrid from Tottenham for £85m in 2013

Wales captain Gareth Bale has declared himself ready to start Sunday's Nations League match against Poland having gone a year without playing a full game.

The Los Angeles FC forward, 33, has not lasted an entire match for club or country since Wales' goalless draw with Estonia in September 2021.

Wales must beat Poland in Cardiff to avoid relegation from the top tier of the Nations League.

"I'm ready to start if the manager [Robert Page] selects me," said Bale.

"I am closer [to being fully fit] than I have been in the last few years, for sure. It's about playing minutes and games and I'm starting to do that a lot more often now.

"The more I play, the fitter I'll get. Hopefully, I can start to peak and get stronger and stronger as quickly as possible."

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Bale appeared as a second-half substitute during Wales' 2-1 Nations League defeat against Belgium on Thursday, with Page saying afterwards that decision was planned beforehand with "one eye on Sunday" and the game against Poland.

As his country's all-time leading scorer in men's international football with 40 goals from 107 appearances, Bale's importance to Wales is undoubted - but his limited game time in recent years means his workload must be carefully managed.

During nine years at Real Madrid, Bale won five Champions League titles and scored in two finals, but a combination of injuries, managerial decisions and indifferent form saw him fall out of favour during his final few seasons in Spain.

He joined LAFC this summer and, although he has settled in well in California with two goals in his 11 appearances to date, the former Tottenham Hotspur player has only started two games.

With Wales' first World Cup since 1958 looming on the horizon in November, the national team's staff have been working with their counterparts at LAFC to ensure Bale arrives in Qatar in prime condition.

"They have a great relationship and they've both reached out to each other to make sure communication is good and what I'm doing are the correct things and not things I shouldn't be doing," said Bale.

"The FAW [Football Association of Wales] have always done what's best for me and what I need, so I suppose it's a good thing they've got a great relationship already."

Bale 'not bothered' about England

Wales begin their World Cup campaign against the United States on 21 November, and their other group opponents in Qatar will be England and Iran.

This weekend Page's men will be aiming to succeed where England have failed, as Gareth Southgate's side were relegated from the top flight of the Nations League following Friday's defeat in Italy.

When England were knocked out by Iceland in the second round of Euro 2016, a video was shared widely on social media showing Wales' players - who went on to reach the semi-finals in France - celebrating the result at their hotel.

Asked how Wales' players reacted to England's defeat against Italy and subsequent Nations League relegation, Bale said: "I wasn't watching so I don't really know what happened to be honest.

"I am not too bothered, to be honest. We are just focussing on ourselves at the moment."