REAL MADRID
Real Madrid: Bale an injury doubt against Espanyol
Bale trained in the gym on Tuesday and continued to train alone on Wednesday and looks like he could miss Saturday's game against Espanyol.
Gareth Bale is a serious doubt for Real Madrid's game against Espanyol on Saturday at the Santiago Bernabéu. The Welsh attacker, who did not train on Tuesday with his teammates but remained in the gym, was absent from group training on Wednesday too. It's normal for the club not to offer updates on Bale but there was no photos of him on the club's official website either.
Missing two consecutive days puts his availability for the Espanyol game in doubt. He looks set to join Asensio, James, Lucas Vazquéz and Eden Hazard on the sideline as they all recover from their own injuries.
After the win against Alavés, Real Madrid had three days to rest before restarting their training on Tuesday. On Wednesday, with Altube, Fidalgo, Belman and Fran García, those available did a long, steady run, ball work with a focus on pressure, tactical work and to finish, they played small-sided games.
Bale returned from the international break in October and didn't reappear until November. He played with Wales, helping them qualify for Euro 2020 before returning to action with Real Madrid against Real Sociedad a week after. He was eased back in, however, with 23 minutes against Real Sociedad, 21 against PSG and 67 as a starter at Mendizorroza.