Football
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Real Madrid's Gareth Bale: Injuries have interrupted my progress

Real Madrid winger Gareth Bale has said that injuries have interrupted his progress with Los Blancos.

Bale, 26, returned to play last month, having missed almost two months of action with a calf injury in January. Prior to that injury, Bale had been on a fine run of form, scoring 11 goals over eight games.

Real Madrid look to overturn a two-goal deficit in the Champions League against Wolfsburg on Tuesday at the Bernabeu after suffering a 2-0 shock loss in the first leg last week.

"It's been a bit of an annoying season in a way -- just a few little slight injuries which have interrupted my form, especially when I was playing really well," Bale told UEFA.com.

"A lot of things have come good. I think my possession game is improving still -- obviously the Premier League is a lot of attacking, end to end, and Spanish-based football is more possession. I feel I've improved in that area and my finishing. All round I've improved, and I still feel I've got a lot more to improve on."

Despite being four points behind leaders Barcelona and one point behind Atletico Madrid, the Wales international said he feels anything is possible.

"I think we know we're a little bit behind in the league, but we still have to keep fighting until the last whistle. We're going to fight as hard as we can to win every game, and hopefully that will take us where we want to be," he said. 

Real Madrid turned Bale into the world's most expensive player in 2013, after a fee of £85.3 million was agreed with Tottenham. The winger immediately took to life in Spain and scored 22 goals in 44 games for the club, helping them to lift the Champions League (La Decima) and Copa del Rey with vital goals.

"I remember being brought in and the president saying to me that he's bringing me in to win the tenth Champions League," Bale said.

"A big reason for me coming to Real Madrid was to play Champions League football and to win the Champions League. And to do it in my first season was very special. The scenes after winning were amazing, coming back to Madrid with all the fans around [the Plaza de] Cibeles. It was just an amazing experience, one I'll never forget.

Asked how he deals with the expectations of the fans for the club, Bale said: "Obviously people put a lot of expectation on you with the price tag and everything like that, but for me I just try and come in every day, try and concentrate on my football, try and focus on what I'm doing [in] training and games. I feel I've just got on with it, and I just to try to enjoy every day as it comes."

Bale added that he didn't feel that the players were overconfident heading into the Champions League quarterfinal.

"It's obviously a massive club with big expectations. I've come here, I've done well. We've won four trophies, which is a good return, but we want to win more," he said.

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