Wales suffer Bale blow to give Republic hope in fight for second spot
Real star to miss Georgia and Ireland matches Winger also doubtful for clashes with Tottenham
Of all the players to lose and of all the times to lose him, this could hardly be worse for Wales. As Chris Coleman’s side prepare for two of the biggest games in Welsh football history, they must do so without their talisman and one true superstar.
The calf strain picked up by Gareth Bale in Real Madrid’s victory over Borussia Dortmund last week seemed innocuous at first. He was left out of Real’s squad at the weekend, but Zinedine Zidane, his manager, insisted that was only a precaution, saying Bale “could have played”.
But, after he arrived in Wales with the rest of the squad on Sunday, the Welsh medical team sent Bale for a fresh scan that showed the damage to be far worse than feared.
Bale will now miss his country’s final two World Cup qualifying games, against Georgia and the Republic of Ireland, as Coleman’s “golden generation” look to become the first Wales side to reach a World Cup since 1958.
And it emerged last night that the injury could rule Bale out for a month, meaning he may be in doubt for any potential play-offs in November, as well as Real Madrid’s Champions League fixtures against his former side Tottenham Hotspur on Oct 17 and Nov 1.
Wales are just one point above Ireland in their qualification group, with Monday’s meeting in Cardiff shaping up to be a straight shoot-out for a play-off place.
“We knew he was injured at the weekend, obviously,” said midfielder Dave Edwards, who plays for Reading. “We knew he had a niggle and was set for a scan, but we did not know the extent of what he had done. It was disappointing to hear the news, and no one was more disappointed than Gareth.”
It is hard to overstate Bale’s impact on this Wales side, who have not won a match without him since 2013. He has scored 20 goals in all competitions for his country since 2012, which is more than the combined total of Aaron Ramsey, Hal Robson-kanu and Sam Vokes, the next three highest scorers in that time.
The injury also prospect of Bale, a Champions League becoming one of the raises the three-time winner, greatest players of his generation to never feature at international football’s biggest tournament.
“None of the lads will ever put pressure on Gareth,” Edwards said. “But I feel that he does feel like he carries this burden of expectation from Wales as a whole. You can tell by the way he carries himself. To not be involved in these matches, it will hurt him.”
Bale will be 33 by the time of the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, while fellow key members of the side who reached the semi-finals of Euro 2016, such as Chris Gunter, Joe Allen and Ramsey, will all be over 30. Captain Ashley Williams, meanwhile, will be 38.
Bale’s absence could mean that Ben Woodburn, 17, is awarded his first start for his country. The Liverpool youngster impressed in the previous round of fixtures, scoring a wonderful winner against Austria on his debut and then creating the first goal in a 2-0 victory over Moldova, but replacing a player of Bale’s calibre will be a big ask for the teenager.
“I have seen a lot of Ben in this campaign and he reminds me of what Gareth was like when he was younger,” Edwards said. “If you see what Gareth was like at the Euros [in 2016], the bigger the stage, the more he thrives.
“From what I have seen, I am pretty sure Ben is cut from the same cloth and he will relish the chance to show everyone he is the real deal.”
Derby striker Tom Lawrence tried to play down the absence of Bale, saying: “He’s a big loss, but that doesn’t faze us. We’ve been without him before and will deal with it again.”
Wales are second in Group D, four points behind leaders Serbia. Having claimed six points in those meetings with Austria and Moldova last month, Coleman’s side realistically need at least four more from the next two games to guarantee a second-place finish.
However, even that may not be enough, as one of the nine teams who finish second in their groups will not progress to a play-off. The team who miss out will be the one with the worst record against the top five teams in their group, as results against the lowest-ranked side will not be counted.
“It is all to play for,” said Coleman on Monday night, before Bale had been ruled out. “I said after the euphoria of the last campaign and the tournament that we wanted to be going into the last three or four games being in it and having something to say. We have almost certainly done that again.
“This campaign, we have not always had Bale, Ramsey or Joe Allen. They are obviously three super-special players and we have not always had them. The lads who have come in have been absolutely magnificent.”