Gareth Bale steps up return to fitness in Tottenham training

Gareth Bale began his journey back to full fitness after he was pictured in Tottenham training with fellow new signing Carlos Vinicius for the first time since the duo's arrival.

The 31-year-old Welshman has yet to make his second Spurs debut after re-joining the club from Real Madrid in the summer window following a knee problem sustained on international duty last month.

But having returned to individual training a week ago, he appeared all smiles as he took part in collective training on Wednesday with Brazilian striker Vinicius, who arrived last week on a season-long loan from Benfica.

The 25-year-old was also pictured equally as happy as his Welsh team-mate as he got a feel for his new surroundings and joined up with his new colleagues under the watchful eye of boss Jose Mourinho.

Vinicius had only featured twice for the Portuguese side this season before his move to the north London side, so it expected he will need a few weeks to build his fitness before he can make his debut.

But he did not let the fact his first Spurs appearance may be a few weeks off distract him as he, along with Bale, completed the session unscathed and with a seemingly positive mood.

Bale and Vinicius were joined by other Spurs stars including goalkeeper Joe Hart and forward Lucas Moura, who are in buoyant mood following the club's 6-1 thrashing of Manchester United put them into sixth place in the Premier League table.

Bale hasn't joined up with Wales to allow the forward to recuperate from his latest injury.

Ryan Giggs men' are in action on Thursday when they are expected to take on an experimental side from Gareth Southgate's England.

But Giggs admits the absence of the Welsh fans will take the edge off his team's bid to win at Wembley for the first time since 1977.

'It would have been so much better with fans, if there was a full house and thousands of Welsh fans coming to support us,' said Giggs, who led Wales to qualification for Euro 2020. 'Unfortunately that's not the case but it's still a special occasion and one that I'm looking forward to.

'As a player you remember the defeats in big games more than the wins but of course I had happy memories there, in the FA Cup and the Community Shield. Hopefully there's another happy memory after this game.

'To go to Wembley and a win is a big thing for any team. When you play a top-ranked country like England, who have such an array of players to choose from, then it would be a great achievement to win it.'