Bale: Wales vs Austria required all my focus and preparation over the last few months

Gareth Bale is feeling fit and ready for Wales' World Cup qualification playoff against Austria, despite having hardly featured for Real Madrid this season.

The Welshman has made just four appearances for Real Madrid and has often missed training with injury, but he insists he is feeling good and that he has been working towards this playoff for several months now.

"What's required is to not to go wandering off with our minds and thinking about the future, as we know it's going to be a difficult game," the forward said in an interview with Sky Sports as he previewed the clash with Austria.

"I'm solely focused on this game, this qualification. There's still a lot to play for and I'm not thinking about anything else at the moment.

"This requires all my attention and all my focus, all my preparation over the last few months. I'm not thinking about anything else but the game and, after that, we'll go from there."

Bale and his World Cup dream

Wales haven't been at the World Cup since 1958, so this is a unique opportunity for this national team.

"I'm a fan, even though I'm playing, and I want to see Wales at a World Cup, whether I'm playing or not," Bale added in his interview with Sky Sports.

"It's a massively important game, but we also have the experience to lean on with important games and this is another one of them. Hopefully we can all perform and get a result.

"Having that big-game experience, handling the nerves, handling the pressure is always a good thing that you can go back into the memory banks and lean on a bit.

"It's something we all have now I guess and we can use that to our advantage. Having some more experienced players in the team can help the younger ones as well. Now it's all about preparing for the game and handling the situation tomorrow as best we can, giving 100 percent and having no regrets."