3 Real Madrid players who must step up with Gareth Bale injured

Real Madrid defeated Celta Vigo 5-2 on LaLiga’s Matchday 4, but while Madridistas are celebrating a wonderful win at the Santiago Bernabeu over the weekend, they are now nervous about the future status of experienced right winger Gareth Bale.

The Welshman rejoined Real Madrid for the 2021-2022 season after spending the previous campaign on loan at Tottenham, where he scored 11 Premier League goals and was a standout player in the Europa League.

Bale got back on the scoresheet for Madrid a few weeks ago in a 3-3 draw with Levante, and he has genuinely looked positive for Los Blancos. But now he has suffered a setback in the form of a right hamstring injury, which could be severe.

COPE’s Miguel Angel Diaz reports that Gareth Bale’s injury is a long-term one, though it is unclear how long he will actually be out for.

We can only hope Bale will recover soon to give us his final send-off before his contract runs out in 2022. Until then, here are three players who must step up with the right winger injured.

RW Marco Asensio

We begin with Marco Asensio, even though he is the least likely to take on this responsibility. Asensio has been shifted to midfield under Carlo Ancelotti, who seems to realize that the player just does not have the right tools to succeed as an inverted winger in Real’s 4-3-3 system.

That said, Asensio is an option on the right wing on a team that would be down to just two right wingers in Bale’s absence. Asensio caught lightning in a bottle off the bench a couple of times last season, but while he can score the occasional goal, he is lacking consistency.

Still, the road is open for Asensio to make appearances in this position, and if he does come on as a right winger for Ancelotti, he really does need to step up. In this more attack-heavy set-up, there will be no excuses if Asensio continues to fade entirely out of matches.