Real Madrid Confirm Ankle Operation For Gareth Bale

This update significantly increases the time Bale will need to recover and instead of being sidelined for around a month, he could now be out of action for two and possibly up to three months.

He made his worst ever goalscoring start to a season with Real, scoring four goals in his first eight games in all competitions, but has since returned to his usual form.

All four of Barca’s slip-ups in La Liga this season have come when Messi hasn’t completed the 90 minutes.

Regarding the game, Zidane added: “It was a game to forget for us because nothing went how we wanted it to. Casemiro is doing well, he is with us, you will have to wait to see if he features”, the Real Madrid boss confirmed in the press conference ahead of the game.

“It will be a very tough game”. “But that was to be expected because we mentioned yesterday about how it was going to be a hard match”.

Real Madrid’s Cristiano Ronaldo walks along the pitch under a heavy rain during a Spanish La Lig … However, with Zidane not finding the right combination with Ronaldo playing as a winger, he might just decide to shake things up and use the Portuguese star as a number 10 in a more creative role.

Real top the standings on 33 points, six ahead of Sevilla in second and seven ahead of Barcelona, who visit Real Sociedad on Sunday.

The win stretched Real’s unbeaten run to 31 games, equalling a mark set by former manager Carlo Ancelotti.

Gijon coach Abelardo Fernandez wants his side to rise to the challenge on Saturday, having lost all but two of the previous nine league games.

Zidane was asked whether delaying Bale’s surgery until after El Clasico was a possibility and he confirmed taking such a risk was never realistically on the table.

There is also a boost on the injury front for Real with the return of Brazil global midfielder Casemiro for the first time since he fractured a leg at Espanyol in September, while Portugal defender Pepe has regained fitness.

Sevilla moved up to second place with a 2-1 win over Valencia at the Estadio Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan.