Tottenham ace Gareth Bale is happy for a break by joining up with the Wales squad.

The Wales star played in both the north London derby defeat at Arsenal and the humiliating Europa League exit at the hands of Dinamo Zagreb four days later.

Spurs bounced back at the weekend with a 2-0 victory at Aston Villa to go three points behind Chelsea in fourth and will face Manchester City in the Carabao Cup final next month.

"I always think when things aren't going too well at a club, it's nice to get away, especially mentally get away from the club environment," Bale, 31, said.

"Definitely, it can be a benefit [getting away]. We focus on these games for Wales, which are very important for us. We forget club life and concentrate on this."

Bale is on a season-long loan deal at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium from Real Madrid after being frozen out by Zinedine Zidane.