Gareth Bale Set to Miss Tottenham Return as New Problem Extends Absence to 'Around a Month'

Real Madrid forward Gareth Bale will not be playing against his former club Tottenham Hotspur when Champions League action rolls around again.

The Welshman, who missed Madrid's match against Espanyol on Sunday due to a calf strain, was initially ruled out of his country's world-cup qualifiers. But Marca and the Guardian are now reporting that the ex-Spurs man will spend at least a month on the sidelines.

The Spanish publication have made claims of a new calf injury which was discovered after a soft training session with the Wales camp on Monday.

Further tests revealed the problem, and the player is now set to miss both of Madrid's Champions League fixtures against Tottenham, as well as matches against Getafe, Eibar and Girona in La Liga, with a Copa del Rey fixture against Fuenlabrada also marked down for the period.

Madrid boss Zinedine Zidane had said that he simply rested the Wales star as a precaution on the weekend, but it appears that Bale's issues are much worse than first thought.