Gareth Bale suffering from 'muscle fatigue' after Real Madrid home debut is put on hold

The £86m winger is expected to miss the midweek trip to Elche but he could make his first appearance at the Santiago Bernabeu when rivals Atletico Madrid visit next weekend

Gareth Bale picked up the injury in the warm-up ahead of the Getafe match on Sunday (GETTY IMAGES)

Gareth Bale looks set to miss Real Madrid’s midweek clash with Elche due to the thigh injury he picked up in the warm-up ahead of Sunday evenings La Liga tie with Getafe, and he is also questionable to make his home debut in next week’s Madrid derby.

Bale is said to be suffering from “muscle fatigue” in his left-quadricep after he felt a tweak during the warm-up, with manager Carlo Ancelotti choosing to withdraw the world’s most expensive player from the squad and replacing his starting line-up berth with another summer signing in the form of Isco.

The Welshman underwent further tests this morning at the Sanitas hospital in La Mraleja where it was confirmed via a medical statement from the club that he was suffering from muscle fatigue.

The statement, published on www.realmadrid.com, read: "After the tests carried out today on Gareth Bale at the Sanitas La Moraleja hospital, fatigue in the left thigh muscle was found. It will be treated."

The news is unsurprising given that Bale did not have a pre-season to gain match fitness, resulting in his slow introduction to football in Spain. So far, he has played just 88 minutes of football for Real in his two outings so far, as well as half an hour in a substitute appearance for Wales in their 3-0 World Cup qualifier defeat to Serbia earlier this month.

It is not yet known when Bale could return, although early reports in Spain suggest he will miss the trip to Elche on Wednesday as a precautionary. He could however return to the squad for next week’s visit of rivals Atletico Madrid when they make the short trip to the Santiago Bernabeu.

Ancelotti’s comments after the 4-1 victory last night reflected this, although he stressed that it was a small problem and shouldn’t keep him out for too long.

"It is difficult to recover in three days, I am sure he will be ready for the game on Saturday," said Ancelotti.

"Today he had a small problem and we hope it is resolved quickly."

"He is very upset at the moment because he was desperate to play his first game at the Bernabeu.

"I don't think it is a big problem, we have to wait until tomorrow to do a scan to see how bad the injury is. He wasn't comfortable, he was worried and so it was better to avoid problems."

Bale was led from the field after it was decided he wouldn't feature against Getafe (GETTY IMAGES)