Real Madrid’s Gareth Bale Ruled Out of Wales’ Crucial UEFA Nations League Clash With Groin Injury

​Real Madrid forward Gareth Bale has been ruled out of Wales’ crunch UEFA Nations League match against the Republic of Ireland, after sustaining a groin injury.

According to the Daily Mail, the 29-year-old will return to Spain in order to recover from the strain, and will be monitored closely ahead of Los Blancos’ El Clásico clash with Barcelona at the end of the month. Real Madrid are believed to be wary of Bale aggravating his injury further, and have continued to pressure Wales to not risk him for the current set of international fixtures.

Deportivo Alaves v Real Madrid - La Liga Santander

​Bale’s Wales teammate Ben Davies admitted that losing the tenacious forward was a real blow, but claimed that youngster David Brooks is ready to step into the breach. The ​Spurs man said: “Gareth not playing is a massive loss for any team, we’ll have to adapt. David is a top player. He has a lot of ability and talent that defenders just don’t want to come up against.” 

“If he’s playing against Ireland we’ll be delighted as a team because we’ve got a good attacking threat in him.”

Ryan Giggs’ side are currently second in their UEFA Nations League group, a point behind leaders Denmark and two clear of Ireland, who will be eager to avoid relegation to the third tier.

With ​Los Blancos legend Cristiano Ronaldo now at ​Juventus, Bale has been afforded a more prominent role in the side this season. However, the club have had a rocky start to the campaign, and are currently in fourth place after a string of poor results. The inconsistency troubling a number of top sides means that they are still just two points off Sevilla at the top.

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Meanwhile, ​Chelsea sensation Eden Hazard has ruled out a January move to Real Madrid, claiming that he doesn’t want to leave the Blues on bad terms. The Belgian ace is hotly tipped to join Los Blancos in the summer, but has ruled out the possibility of leaving before the end of the season, perhaps wary of angering Blues fans and derailing the club’s league title bid.

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