Real Madrid star Bale out of Napoli Champions League clash

Joe Wright

•
Real Madrid star Bale out of Napoli Champions League clash image

Gareth Bale has been left out of the Real Madrid squad for Wednesday's Champions League clash with Napoli.

The Wales star returned to team training over the weekend but head coach Zinedine Zidane has decided the first leg of the round-of-16 tie has come too soon for him to play a part.

Sergio Ramos hails 'captain' Zidane

Toni Kroos has been passed fit for the 19-man squad but full-back Danilo and attacking midfielder Marco Asensio have been left out, as has 18-year-old Mariano Diaz.

Speaking at a news conference on Tuesday, Zidane suggested Madrid's La Liga meeting with Espanyol may be the more realistic moment for Bale to make his first appearance since November.

Modric glad Maradona is retired

"It's the first week that he's trained with the group," he said. "He's good, he's good physically and mentally, which is the most important thing.

"We'll see if he can be in the squad or if he'll be there at the weekend. At the same time, after two or three months out, we have to be very careful with Gareth."

Bale has been sidelined since suffering an ankle injury in the Champions League group game against Sporting CP in November.

Joe Wright

Joe Wright Photo

Joe is a Senior Editor at Sporting News. He was previously a sub editor and writer for Goal.com before spending six years as part of the Stats Perform editorial news service, covering major global sports including football, tennis, boxing, NBA, rugby union and athletics. Joe has reported live on some of the biggest games in football, including two UEFA Champions League finals, Euro 2016, the Confederations Cup 2017 and the 2018 World Cup final at the end of a month in Russia.