Gareth Bale set to return to action in Real Madrid's Copa del Rey clash with Fuenlabrada

Gareth Bale is set to make his long-awaited return to action when Real Madrid host Fuenlabrada in the second leg of the Copa del Rey fourth-round tie on Tuesday night (28 November).

Bale has been on the sidelines since being forced off during the 3-1 Champions League victory over Borussia Dortmund on 26 September.

The former Tottenham Hotspur star was originally tipped to return to action for the goalless draw with Atletico Madrid on 18 November. However, he had to delay his comeback after suffering a setback in his recovery during a training session.

Yet, the 28-year-old forward returned to full training on Friday and will be ready to feature against Fuenlabrada.

"The idea is that tomorrow he's available and can play. The way that the game is going will guide our decision. I don't know exactly how long he'll play," Zidane said in the press conference ahead of the Copa del Rey clash. "Obviously I would like to see Gareth, Cristiano Ronaldo and Karim Benzema play together because they have not played together for a long time."

Mateo Kovacic and Keylor Navas will also feature but Zinedine Zidane confirmed that the game against the second division side will still come too soon for captain Sergio Ramos.

Navas and Kovacic made the bench during the win over Malaga while the captain has been training with a protective mask after breaking his nose against Atletico Madrid.

"Navas' injury is over. Now we think about the future and tomorrow Keylor will be there. I want everyone healthy and he is healthy. It's good news for us," Zidane said.

"Sergio Ramos isn't going to play tomorrow, while Kovacic has been training with us regularly for some time now and I hope that he'll be able to play the whole game tomorrow. Kovacic has been training with us regularly for some time now and I hope that he'll be able to play the whole game tomorrow."

Meanwhile, Lucas played the full 90 minutes during the weekend win over Malaga after being surprisingly selected in the starting line-up ahead of Luka Modric. However, the Spanish winger is also expected to miss the clash with Real's neighbours after missing Monday's [27 November] training session due to a knock in his ankle.

"Lucas's suffered a heavy blow and he has an inflamed soleus," Zidane added.

Elsewhere, Zidane suggested that will make wholesale changes to his starting-line up to face Fuenlabrada with Real having a 2-0 advantage from the first-leg.

"We have to finish the job. The first leg was very good, we scored two goals and played well. What we want and need to do tomorrow is to play well again like we did at Fuenlabrada, finish the job, win and go through to the next round," the Real boss added.

"The academy graduates must go in to the game and enjoy it, that's it. We know that it's a special place to play and those players who do so, must enjoy it. The Castilla side is made up of young players, who have to learn, and compete. We can't rush them and tomorrow is an opportunity to have a look at them. I know what it means for an academy player to join up with the first team and play from time to time."