Gareth Bale is out of Wales’ two remaining two World Cup qualifiers, against Georgia and the Republic of Ireland, with a calf injury.
The Real Madrid star’s fitness has been a source of concern for Wales since he suffered a calf muscle strain against Borussia Dortmund in the Champions League last week.
The 28-year-old missed Real Madrid’s La Liga clash with Espanyol on Sunday night but reported to the Wales camp the following morning.
Bale attended the FAW Awards dinner on Monday night but will not be fit enough to play in the two qualifiers which will determine Wales’ World Cup ambitions.
Real manager Zinedine Zidane said at his pre-match press conference that Bale had suffered a hamstring strain against Borussia Dortmund in the Champions League last Tuesday.
Yet since then Zidane had played down the extent of the injury and suggested that Bale would be fit to resume his international duties.
“He was suffering after the game in Dortmund,” said Zidane.
“He strained his hamstring but in the end it’s nothing. It’s not an injury. I’ve spoken to him and the doctors.”
That belief was echoed by Wales manager Chris Coleman who told the media on Monday; “In the last camp Gareth came to us and he’s probably fitter now than he was then. He ran his socks off and was at the heart of everything.”
But on Tuesday morning, the FAW issued a statement confirming that Bale would miss both qualifiers and that Barnsley’s Tom Bradshaw will be the squad replacement.
It read: “The Football Association of Wales can confirm that Gareth Bale will miss the upcoming World Cup
qualifiers against Georgia and Republic of Ireland.
“Bale – who missed Real Madrid’s game against Espanyol on Sunday – arrived with the rest of the
Wales squad on Sunday and attended Monday’s annual FAW Awards dinner at the team
headquarters in Cardiff.
“But following dialogue with Real Madrid, Bale was sent for a scan and results confirmed that he
wouldn’t be fit to feature.
“Barnsley striker Tom Bradshaw will now join up with the rest of the squad later today.”
It is a huge blow for Coleman and his plans to claim qualification for Russia 2018. Wales need four points from their final two games to guarantee one of the top two spots in Group D, but may need to win both matches in order to claim second place to secure a play-off spot.
Bale joined up with the Wales squad on Monday and trained with a recovery group ahead of this week’s final set of World Cup qualifiers.
