Bale doubtful for crucial World Cup clashes
REAL MADRID forward Gareth Bale could miss Wales’s crucial World Cup qualifiers with Georgia and the Republic of Ireland after suffering a calf strain.
The former Tottenham player is unlikely to face Espanyol today after Real coach Zinedine Zidane said he had the strain, casting doubt on whether he can make Friday’s trip to Georgia and Monday week’s final qualifier in Cardiff against Martin O’Neill’s Boys in Green.
Bale produced his best display of the season in Real’s impressive 3-1 win at Borussia Dortmund on Tuesday, scoring and providing an assist, but was haunted by the familiar curse of a muscle injury and was forced off with five minutes to go. His club made no announcement on the injury, originally thought to be cramp, but Zidane said Bale had a small calf strain.
‘He has a strain, it’s nothing important, but here we do not like to take risks if a player has something small. We will see if Gareth is with us tomorrow,’ Zidane told a press conference yesterday.
Bale’s fitness is crucial to Wales’s hopes of qualifying for the World Cup. Chris Coleman’s side, who are second in Group D, four points behind leaders Serbia and one clear of Ireland in third.
‘He will go off for international duty if he has to,’ Zidane added. ‘There’s no problem between Madrid and Wales, it all depends on his fitness, nothing else. We will take it day by day.’
Only the top team in the group will qualify directly for next month’s tournament in Russia, with eight of the nine runners-up playing off for a further four spots.
Bale’s absence would be a boost to O’Neill, but he knows his side must win their match at home to Moldova on Friday to boost their own hopes.