Alarm bells at Real Madrid: Bale injury flares up again

Gareth Bale is practically certain to miss out on the Roma game due to another relapse of his calf injury. According to Sportyou, Bale has suffered a relapse of the calf injury that has plagued him and will miss Real Madrid's first eliminiation-round encounter against Roma in the Champions' League. The Welshman's superb run of form with Los Blancos was cut short on January 17 against Sporting Gijón in the Santiago Bernabéu.

“Sóleo” has become Gareth Bale’s most hated word in Spanish, and this latest injury in that area of the muscle, his sixth, was originally predicted to cost him three weeks on the sidelines, making a return in the La Liga match against Athletic Bilbao, with the aim of coming on as a sub to get his fitness up for the Roma opener.

Now it appears that a comeback will take longer than expected, his work and recovery process out at Valdebebas may be accountable for this latest setback.  

Bale's recurring calf injuries have prevented him from making consistent appearances in Madrid's blanco, as he continues his quest to prove himself worth the €100M price-tag from Tottenham Hotspur.

Bale's injury came right when the Wales captain seemed to be doing just that, scoring freely and combining to devastating effect with Ronaldo and Benzema, on a roll having scored one at the Mestalla, three against Depor and one against Sporting before calling for a sub.

His best scoring streak since his arrival at the Bernabéu was again foiled by his injury-prone calves, 13 goals and 11 assists in 17 matches highlighting how good he can be between injuries.

This relapse comes at a crucial stage of the season as Zidane's charges welcome Athletic Bilbao to the Bernabéu, travel to Roma, then Malaga and face a heavily charged derby against city rivals Atlético Madrid, who currently sit one point ahead of Los Blancos in the league table.