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Gareth Bale Limps His Way Out Of El Clásico, Experiences 12th Injury Since Joining Real Madrid

By Luis Castillo

MADRID, SPAIN - APRIL 23: An injured Gareth Bale of Real Madrid leaves the pitch during the La Liga match between Real Madrid CF and FC Barcelona at Estadio Bernabeu on April 23, 2017 in Madrid, Spain. (Photo by Gonzalo Arroyo Moreno/Getty Images)
MADRID, SPAIN - APRIL 23: An injured Gareth Bale of Real Madrid leaves the pitch during the La Liga match between Real Madrid CF and FC Barcelona at Estadio Bernabeu on April 23, 2017 in Madrid, Spain. (Photo by Gonzalo Arroyo Moreno/Getty Images) /
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After a lot of hype building up his return for El Clásico, Gareth Bale lasted a measly 38 minutes before limping off the pitch for the 12th time since joining Real Madrid. Luis Castillo tell you what this mean for the Welsh forward going forward in his career.

It may be hard to believe, but Gareth Bale is once again injured. We all saw the hype before the match. We all heard Zinedine Zidane and Bale himself say how he was fully recovered. Then, just 38 minutes into the match, he limped off and Real Madrid were better off from it.

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Many of us thought this was the season Gareth Bale would be Real’s best player. He gave quite the performance in the Euro 2016 tournament after all, and he was touted as a favorite for the Ballon d’Or if he could keep up his great play.

Then the season started and we as fans all got even more excited with Bale’s performances. He was great! He was winning headers and scoring consistently, and with Cristiano Ronaldo injured, he was not the second option up front, he was the target man that Ronaldo usually is.

In September, he gave everyone the first scare. He picked up a hip injury, and although he would only be out for a week, he missed two games.

Of course, that would be his first missed week of many, because just 4 weeks later he picked up an ankle injury that would sideline him for 84 days. He missed out on 17 games, and we all rooted for him to return. Then when he did return, he wasn’t himself. Two weeks ago, against Bayern in the Champions League, he picked up another calf injury, and that brings us up to this injury Bale suffered in El Clásico.

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The Welshman is now expected to miss out on two more weeks, and many of us are looking at this as a blessing in disguise. On one hand, Bale might experience his least productive season since joining Los Blancos, with less minutes and less goals than any season prior.

On the other hand, Marco Asensio, James Rodriguez and Isco are screaming for minutes and all have put in great individual efforts the last couple of weeks in big matches.

So, while it is a determinate to Zidane and his tactics to be without Bale, there are still plenty of players worthy of getting minutes.

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