Julen Lopetegui Reveals Extent of Gareth Bale's Injury Sustained During Draw With Atletico

Real Madrid manager Julen Lopetegui has confirmed that Gareth Bale was taken off at half time during the Madrid derby as a precaution after the forward sustained an early injury.

Bale pulled up in the 40th minute of the derby clutching his adductor muscle and, after trying to stretch off the injury, the Welsh forward was clearly far from happy and was showing visible signs of discomfort on the ball.

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Following the match, which ended in a 0-0 draw, Lopetegui confirmed that he substituted Bale because of the injury, but he was unsure of how serious it could turn out to be.

"Bale had discomfort in his adductor at half-time and as a precaution he didn't come out for the second half," Lopetegui said, as per Sky Sports. "We will test him tomorrow and we'll see." 

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So far this season the 29-year-old has managed to bag four goals and register three assists in all competitions, confirming the fact that he is going to be Los Blancos' talisman following the summer departure of Cristano Ronaldo.

It is another injury blow for Real Madrid, who are also without key attacking midfielder Isco and left-back Marcelo. Isco is currently suffering from appendicitis whilst Marcelo is set to be out for the next few weeks as he nurses a calf injury sustained drawing Madrid's defeat to Sevilla.

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Bale's injury means that he unlikely to be a part of the Real Madrid squad that travels to Russia to face CSKA Moscow in the Champions League on Tuesday evening and could be a doubt for the upcoming international break where he may be coming up against a number of his club teammates as Wales face Spain.