BALE IN REAL RACE TO BE FIT FOR FINAL
THE Champions League homecoming dream for Gareth Bale could be under threat following the injury he suffered during Sunday’s El Clasico clash between Real Madrid and Barcelona.
The Welsh talisman is set to miss Real Madrid’s run-in to the Euro final – being played in Cardiff on June 3 – after limping off with a calf injury in his side’s defeat against their bitter rivals.
Bale departed in the 39th minute of Los Blancos’ 3-2 La Liga defeat, a result that saw Barcelona move above Real Madrid in the table on goal difference.
The club yesterday released a statement confirming that the Wales star suffered a grade two calf injury in the game at the Bernabeu.
A club statement read: “Following the tests carried out on Gareth Bale by the Sanitas Medical Services, the player has been diagnosed with a grade two injury in his left calf. His recovery will continue to be assessed.”
He is now set to miss both legs of Real Madrid’s Champions League semi-final against local rivals Atletico Madrid and could miss out on a home final at the Principality Stadium if Zinedine Zidane’s men progess from the last four.
He is suspended for Wales’ next World Cup qualifier against Serbia on June 11 having picked up a yellow card in the draw with the Irish Republic in Dublin, his second booking of the qualifying campaign.
Zidane’s men host their city rivals Atletico in the first leg of the semifinals on May 2 before playing the return leg at the Vicente Calderon eight days’ later.
Los Blancos end their domestic campaign against Malaga on May 21, with the Champions League final in the Welsh capital possibly still to come.