Real Madrid‘s hopes of overhauling Barcelona to claim an unlikely Liga title have been dealt a blow following the news that both Gareth Bale and Keylor Navas are laid out.
As confirmed on the club’s website, the Welsh superstar—who opened the scoring (via a deflection from Fernando) vs. Manchester City in midweek—has been diagnosed with a joint strain in his right knee.
Los Merengues have refused to comment on how long the wideman will be out for, but the news certainly comes as concern for coach Zinedine Zidane, particularly in light of the attacker’s vital contribution in Wednesday’s second leg to help Los Blancos to the UCL final.
It remains to be seen whether the injury will affect Bale’s hopes of starring for Wales at the European Championships in France this summer.
To compound the Bale news, the club have also revealed that goalkeeper Navas has been diagnosed with tendonitis in the achilles in his left foot [as per the club’s official website].
Ahead of their home game against Valencia on Sunday, Real find themselves third in the Spanish top flight.
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Following an excellent run of form, Zidane’s side are firmly back in the title race, and find themselves just one point behind leaders Barcelona and Champions League final opponents Atletico Madrid with two games to play.