The Wales winger has been working hard at Spurs’ training ground during the international break in the hope of featuring this weekend
Jose Mourinho has refused to rule out handing Gareth Bale his second Tottenham debut against West Ham this weekend, but says any decision taken will be for the good of the team.
Though he re-joined the club nearly a month ago, Bale has yet to make an appearance for Spurs because he has been working his way back from a knee injury picked up over the summer.
The 31-year-old withdrew from the Wales squad in order to build up his fitness and has spent the past few weeks working hard at Tottenham’s training ground.
Mourinho was understandably coy about his team selection when asked whether Bale had done enough to earning a starting spot this weekend, but he did not rule it out either.
“The team is the most important thing and Gareth is here to help the team, but at the same time we care about about him,” he told Sky Sports.
“So the decision we are going make is going to be for the good of the team, but also for him.
“It is very important he has a happy season with us at this moment in his career.”
Mourinho will be hoping his side can pick off where they left off against the Hammers on Sunday, having thrashed Manchester United 6-1 at Old Trafford immediately prior to the international break.
That made it seven games unbeaten in all competitions for the north London side, with their only defeat coming against early pacesetters Everton on the opening weekend of the campaign.
They have played more games than any other team in the Premier League so far because of their involvement in the Europa League qualifying rounds.
“We coped well with that busy period just because the squad is very good and the boys were fantastic,” added Mourinho.
“It is a big match on Sunday against a team that is playing well and getting very good results, and it is a London derby too.
“So let’s forget what we did well these in the past couple of weeks where we got results. The new period starts Sunday.”
