Bale a Clasico doubt as Real Madrid confirm ankle injury

Dom Farrell

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Bale a Clasico doubt as Real Madrid confirm ankle injury image

Gareth Bale is a doubt for next month's Clasico against Barcelona after suffering an ankle tendon injury during Real Madrid's 2-1 Champions League win at Sporting CP on Tuesday, the La Liga leaders have confirmed.

The Wales international limped off after 58 minutes in Lisbon having sustained a blow to his right ankle in a challenge with Sporting centre-back Sebastian Coates.

'Ronaldo has many enemies'

Tests conducted on Wednesday at University Hospital Sanitas La Moraleja showed Bale to have "a traumatic dislocation of the peroneal tendons in his right ankle".

Madrid did not put a time frame on the forward's recovery but he must now be considered a major doubt for this season's first Clasico showdown at Camp Nou on December 3.

Bale has been influential for Madrid this season, performing with distinction as Cristiano Ronaldo grappled with fitness problems post Euro 2016, scoring seven goals in 15 appearances across all competitions.

Zinedine Zidane's men are four points ahead of defending champions Barca at the top of La Liga and host Sporting Gijon this weekend.

Dom Farrell

Dom Farrell Photo

Dom is the senior content producer for Sporting News UK. He previously worked as fan brands editor for Manchester City at Reach Plc. Prior to that, he built more than a decade of experience in the sports journalism industry, primarily for the Stats Perform and Press Association news agencies. Dom has covered major football events on location, including the entirety of Euro 2016 and the 2018 World Cup in Paris and St Petersburg respectively, along with numerous high-profile Premier League, Champions League and England international matches. Cricket and boxing are his other major sporting passions and he has covered the likes of Anthony Joshua, Tyson Fury, Wladimir Klitschko, Gennadiy Golovkin and Vasyl Lomachenko live from ringside.