Bale fit and ready for England

Wales winger Gareth Bale has brushed off a niggling back injury and declared himself fit to face England in Saturday’s Euro 2012 qualifier.

Bale has been nursing soreness in his lower back through the New Year, restricting his playing time for English Premier League club Tottenham.But the 21-year-old, described as the best winger in the world by England manager Fabio Capello, got through 90 minutes against West Ham United last weekend and believes he is ready to fire for his country.”I had my first 90 minutes on Saturday and was a bit stiff after the game and the next day,” Bale said.”But I have recovered well and am just getting prepared for the weekend now.”The news will come as welcome relief to Wales manager Gary Speed, whose outing against England will be his first competitive match at the helm of the national team. But the news is not so promising for England and Chelsea full-back Ashley Cole, who has come up against the Welshman in the Premier League and is well aware of the danger he poses.”Bale is fantastic. Last season and this season he has shown how good he is,” Cole to FATV.”It shows in football you just need confidence. At one time, he didn’t have much confidence as he wasn’t playing as much as he would have liked.””Then he starts to play and now he is proving how good he is.””From when I played against Wales, it’s a totally different team. But whenever you play against them, Scotland or Ireland it is always going to be a tough game.””The atmosphere is electric and no team wants to lose. We know we have to keep going in qualification and keep picking up points. It will be a big game for us and we have to win.”Wales have lost their opening three qualifiers for the 2012 European Championships and have only a slim chance of qualifying for the finals in Poland and Ukraine. But Arsenal midfielder Aaron Ramsey, who is poised to earn his first Wales cap in over a year after breaking his leg in a horrible tackle by Stoke City’s Ryan Shawcross, is hopeful his side can make Cardiff’s Millennium Stadium proud on Saturday.”I’m sure it will be a close game and hopefully we can get the result,” Ramsey said.”Winning would mean everything. England are a rival to us and we want to show them we are capable of competing on the big stage.””There is no better occasion to make that statement than to beat England than at the weekend.”