Rob Page explains Gareth Bale absence as plan for Wales captain revealed ahead of Ukraine clash

Rob Page revealed Gareth Bale has been following a personal plan to ensure he is in peak condition for Wales' World Cup play-off final with Ukraine.

The 32-year-old trained with his team-mates in an open session at the Vale Resort on Saturday morning and was due to face the media at Cardiff City Stadium in the afternoon. However, the Wales captain remained at his country's training base with a view to holding a press conference over Zoom.

He played just 20 minutes of football for Real Madrid after firing Wales to a 2-1 triumph over Austria in March. Ahead of the crucial match in the Welsh capital on Sunday, Page revealed he has a fully fit squad to select from. And the head coach has allayed fears over Bale's condition after confirming the recently released Real Madrid man is following a pre-planned schedule.

Wales v Ukraine press conference updates as Rob Page, Connor Roberts and Gareth Bale face the media

"No injuries," Page confirmed. "Everyone’s got a clean bill of health." And on Bale specifically, he said: "It was part of his plan today. He’s got a plan that he had to get himself in the right shape for tomorrow and he’s sticking to it. I have the utmost respect for him for doing that.

"For the senior players, we ask them what they need to get them in the best place for game day. Some like to train two days before, some like to train the day before, some don’t. There's a lot of moving parts in it. I’ve got nothing but respect for the medical team.

"He’s got a plan in place and he didn’t want to veer away from that. At this important stage of the build-up, I didn’t want to go away from that."

Wales could well go with the same line-up that started the 2-1 semi-final win over Austria in November. As for Ukraine, they