Real Madrid injury update: Carvajal back working out, Bale return still unknown
By Ben Sundock
Real Madrid received some good news this week when Dani Carvajal was cleared of a viral infection to his heart and was able to return to working out after being shut down since late September. On the other hand, Gareth Bale’s status remains unclear as he tries to recover from a hamstring injury. Here are all the details.
In his press conference Wednesday, manager Zinedine Zidane filled the press in on what the current injury situation at the club looks like.
He began by explaining that right-back Dani Carvajal was back in the weight room training as he tries to make a full recovery from an infection to his heart that has prevented him from playing since Real’s win at Borussia Dortmund back at the end of September.
“Dani is doing well,” he said. “He’s undergone tests and they’re positive.”
“Today he’s started to ride a bike and now his recovery will take time, but he’s healthy and I’m happy about that. He’ll have to go through the recovery process so let’s see.”
While the timetable for when Dani can return to full training with his team and make a return to matches is unclear, this is a good sign for the Spanish international.
It usually takes between 4 and 6 weeks for a heart infection such as this to fully heal but Carvajal is ahead of schedule. The most difficult part of the recovery is ahead as he will slowly but surely ramp up his training regiment, trying to get back to 100% fitness.
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On the other hand, the injury-prone Gareth Bale is still rehabbing from a hamstring pull suffered in that 3-1 win over Dortmund in Germany.
Bale has missed every league game since the injury and missed World Cup qualifying with Wales where they lost to Ireland, coming up just short of making it to Russia.
“Bale is already on the field, almost ready to train with the team, but I can’t give you a date for when he’ll be back,” Zidane said.
While the injury is nothing serious, it is a lingering problem that has hampered Bale throughout his time in Madrid. This is the 13th separate occasion Gareth has missed at least a game due to an injury and a jaw-dropping third time it has been due to his hamstring.
Real Madrid will travel to London to face Tottenham Hotspur on November 1st in Wembley Stadium, and Zidane is unsure if the Welsh Dragon will be fit even then. Spurs are, of course, Bale’s former team and as it stands currently, it looks like he will miss both Champions League group stage matches against his former club.
Neither Bale nor Carvajal will feature in the squad today against Franlabuena in the Copa del Rey and both are unlikely to appear in the match over the weekend against Girona.
While there isn’t much good news on the injury, there is good progress it appears. I think with the way things have gone in the past and the way Bale has had to rehab from his current lingering hamstring problem Dani comes back before the forward does.
I understand that hamstring injuries take time to heal and are hard to deal with, but does it really take a full month of no training or playing to fully heal a minor tweak?
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