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Updated October 16th, 2019 at 11:02 IST

Clasico concerns for Madrid as Modric and Bale sit out training

Real Madrid face an anxious wait to see if Luka Modric and Gareth Bale will be fit for next week's Clasico against Barcelona after both players missed training.

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Real Madrid face an anxious wait to see if Luka Modric and Gareth Bale will be fit for next week's Clasico against Barcelona after both players missed training on Tuesday. Modric and Bale each did gym work indoors as they attempted to recover from injuries sustained playing in the Euro 2020 qualifier between Croatia and Wales on Sunday. It leaves Madrid uncertain over the fitness of two key players, with the crunch La Liga game against Barca at Camp Nou fast-approaching on October 26.

Wales coach Ryan Giggs said Bale was struggling with pain in his calf towards the end of their draw with Croatia in Cardiff but suggested the problem was cramp. Madrid confirmed on Tuesday that Modric sustained a thigh injury in the match.

"Following the tests carried out today on our player Luka Modric by the Real Madrid medical department, he has been diagnosed with a bruise in his right quadriceps," a club statement read.

"His recovery will continue to be assessed." Real Madrid, who sit top of La Liga, play away at Mallorca on Saturday and at Barcelona a week later, with an important Champions League group game away at Galatasaray in between. Lucas Vazquez has also picked up a knock and is unlikely to be available this weekend.

READ: Cristiano Ronaldo: The Superstar's 4 Memorable Real Madrid Moments

Back to basics

Real Madrid's revolution was supposed to be built around their attack but resilience has been the base for the recovery ahead of their Champions League group game at home to Club Brugge on Tuesday. At the end of last season, as Zinedine Zidane's dreary run-in came to a close and paved the way for what many expected to be a spectacular summer, polls were published by Madrid's newspapers asking fans which of the world's deadliest strikers they hoped would arrive at the Santiago Bernabeu.

Harry Kane, Mohamed Salah, Sergio Aguero, Mauro Icardi and Robert Lewandowski were some of the names offered up and, in the end, Luka Jovic arrived, the Serbian who has struggled for starts so far and is yet to score a goal. Eden Hazard is tasked too with helping fill the void left by Cristiano Ronaldo, even if the Belgian's own opening in Madrid has also been underwhelming, stalled by injury and now seemingly a period of adjustment.

READ: https://www.republicworld.com/sports-news/football-news/wales-vs-croatia-bale-and-modric-suffer-injuries-in-the-qualifiers.html

"We would like him to score because it will release him," said Zidane. "But there is no problem with him." Yet the stalemate against Atletico Madrid, in which neither side ever looked likely to find a winner, was a stark indication of how Real Madrid has relied on their defense to ease the pressure on their coach. "We have been compact and again we have not conceded," said Zidane after the derby draw. "We have missed a little offensively but we are in it and we can improve."

READ: Real Madrid: Gareth Bale, Hazard And Others On International Duty

This is the first time Madrid has kept three consecutive clean sheets in the league under Zidane and in the games against Sevilla, Osasuna, and Atletico, they have had to cope with just a single shot on target. "Defending is very important, it is the fundamentals," Zidane said.

The turnaround has been remarkable from Paris Saint-Germain, whose 3-0 win in the Champions League 10 days ago was Zidane's worst ever defeat as a coach, as well as Levante and Villarreal, who had just scored twice against Madrid in the league. When they were floundering last season, the focus was on their lack of goals but Madrid's defending was arguably just as problematic, with Sergio Ramos, Raphael Varane and Marcelo all woefully out of sorts. After missing the loss to PSG, Ramos' return has coincided with the trio of clean sheets and his performances have been tighter too, more disciplined and less prone to extravagance.

READ: Gareth Bale Not Distracted By Speculation Over Future At Real Madrid

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Published October 16th, 2019 at 10:48 IST

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