Real Madrid ace Gareth Bale will spend the next two to three weeks recovering from a calf injury picked up their 4-0 rout over Shakhtar Donetsk, according to manager Rafa Benitez.
Bale, 26, was forced off during their midweek win as they opened up their Champions League campaign with a routine win over their Ukrainian opponents.
The world’s most expensive player will almost certainly miss Madrid’s next three league games and their European trip to Malmo and could even be unavailable for the first Madrid derby of the season at the start of next month.
Benitez, however, believes Bale will be fit enough for when Wales take on Bosnia & Herzegovina later next month with a spot in next summers Euro’s in touching distance.
“It’s a small injury and it appears he recovers quickly,” Benitez is quoted as saying by BBC Sport.
"We are optimistic [he will be fit in time for Wales].
“If the player is fit to go with the national team there is little you can do apart from the normal conversations with the national team managers.
“The most important thing is that Gareth recovers as quickly as possible.”
Bale has been in fine form for club and country in recent times. The Welshman has scored six of Wales’ nine goals in Euro qualifiers and only Riyad Mahrez (8.76) is currently rated higher than the forward across Europe’s top five leagues this season (8.72)
For more stats on Gareth Bale, click here to visit his WhoScored player page
