Gareth Bale to miss Wales-Spain friendly, Giggs confirms

Wales coach Ryan Giggs confirmed this afternoon that Gareth Bale will play no part in tomorrow's friendly against Spain in Cardiff as he is suffering muscular fatigue: "It's nothing seroius and maybe he will get a chance to play [against the Republic of Ireland] on Tuesday but we'll need to see how is getting on day by day", Giggs told reporters in today's press conference.

Last weekend, Bale asked to be taken off in the second half of Real Madrid's league meeting with Alavés, citing fatigue. The Welsh forward has been carrying a groin strain for the past few weeks.  Bale didn't train with the Wales squad today and Giggs explained that the player has "a 50 per cent chance" of returning to the team for next Tuesday's UEFA Nations League clash with the Republic of Ireland. "We don't want to take any unnecessary risks with Gareth, we will be preparing for the Ireland game with both scenarios in mind [with or without Bale]", the coach added.

Giggs went on to say that Wales medical staff are in constant contact with Real Madrid's medical team and that Bale had asked to play tomorrow's game. Meanwhile, centre-back Ashley Williams said that Wales would sorely miss Bale against Spain. "He's our best player, and even if he doesn't play, at least he's here with us and that's positive for the team. We'll miss him, we hope he's available for as many games as possible", the Stoke City defender explained.