Gareth Bale is edging closer to his Real Madrid debut after training with his new teammates in Spain for the first time.
The 24-year-old became the most expensive player in world football after securing an £86million transfer to the Spanish capital from Tottenham late in the transfer window.
And he is expected to play some part in Real's La Liga clash at Villarreal on Saturday evening after taking part in a training session with Los Blancos late on Wednesday afternoon.
Real normally train during the morning but they rescheduled their session for later in the day due to the number of players who participated in international matches this week.
Bale took to the field as a 59th-minute substitute for Wales in their 3-0 defeat to Serbia on Tuesday night - his first match action of the season.
It remains to be seen how big a role he will play against Villarreal given that he has hardly trained in pre-season.
His chances of starting the match could be boosted by injuries to Madrid's regular left-backs Marcelo and Fabio Coentrao.
They will be assessed by Real's medical team in the coming days.
Ahead of that fixture, Real face Galatasaray in the Champions League on Tuesday before hosting city rivals Getafe at the Bernabeu the following Sunday.
