BALE OUT OF EL-CLASICO AGAINST BARCELONA

The timing could barely be worse. With the Clasico at Barcelona just around the corner, Gareth Bale is injured and the 27-year-old will be sidelined for up to three months after ankle surgery on Tuesday. It's terrible news for Real Madrid.
Bale out for up to three months with ankle injury, Zidane must shuffle the pack again ahead of the Clasico.

Real Madrid are at home to Sporting Gijon on Saturday, with a Copa del Rey clash against Cultural Leonesa to come on Wednesday night - also at the Santiago Bernabeu. And while the Blancos should be able to negotiate both of those fixtures comfortably, the trip to Barcelona represents another type of test altogether.

Bale is 16th Madrid player injured this season
James Rodriguez was excellent in September when Modric was out, while Mateo Kovacic has emerged as a fine option in the absence of Casemiro, Nacho and Raphael Varane were superb in central defence against Atletico, with Isco incredibly impressive in the playmaker role that same night.
In fact, Madrid's squad is so strong these days that they can cope without almost anybody and while Zidane has long maintained that the idea is to play with Bale, Benzema and Ronaldo in attack, he has found solutions when those players have been unavailable.

So while losing Bale to injury just before the Clasico is evidently a big blow, it is not necessarily a fatal one for Real Madrid.