Gareth Bale remains out for Real Madrid vs Sevilla but Jesus Vallejo returns to ease Zidane concerns

Gareth Bale will remain on the sidelines when Real Madrid host Sevilla on Saturday (9 December) in search for a victory that will put pressure on leaders Barcelona at the top of La Liga table.

Raphael Varane and goalkeeper Luca Zidane will also miss the game through injury while Sergio Ramos, Dani Carvajal and Casemiro are also ruled out due to suspension.

However, Zinedine Zidane has provided a major boost with centre-back Jesus Vallejo ready to return to action to ease his defensive worries ahead of Real's last La Liga game before travelling to Abu Dhabi for the Fifa Club World Cup.

Bale has missed the last two games against Athletic Club Bilbao and Borussia Dormund after the Welshman suffered a setback after returning to action from a two-month spell on the sidelines during the Copa del Rey clash with Fuenlabrada on 28 November.

The former Tottenham Hotspur star was back in training on Friday morning (8 December) but Zidane said that the visit of Sevilla will still come too early for his forward.

"He's only trained with us for part of the session and will not be with us tomorrow, "the Real boss confirmed in the press conference ahead of the clash with Sevilla. "The idea is that he'll travel with us to the Club World Cup. We'll see if he's available for the first game."

Varane joined Bale and long-term casualty Luca in the treatment room on Wednesday night after he was forced off in the 38<sup>th minute of the Champions League win over Borussia Dortmund.

The situation left Zidane with a major headache over who to select in his back-line against Sevilla with Carvajal, Ramos and the versatile Casemiro suspended. However, the Real boss will finally be able to count on Vallejo with the Spanish starlet having recovered from a muscle injury which prevented him from playing against Dortmund.

"Jesus is going to be with us because he's fine," Zidane said in the press conference with the Spanish starlet expected to start alongside Nacho in the heart of the back-line to cover the absences of Ramos and Varane.

"Varane's thing isn't serious. He'll not be available for tomorrow, but after the scan we've been able to see that it's nothing serious and he'll travel with us for the Club World Cup. He's the first one who wants to continue playing and be pain free. It's nothing serious and that's positive. He's still young and those problems don't let him play more than four or five games in a row. The only thing we can do is preventative work with him because something happens to him playing every three days. We have to change something in the way he trains or plays. When he plays he does very well but he has a hard time playing every game. We'll work hard to fix everything".

Los Blancos are eight points behind Barcelona in the Spanish top flight and cannot afford to drop anymore points after missing a golden opportunity to reduce the gap with a goalless draw at Athletic Club Bilbao last week.

Furthermore, the visit of Sevilla will be their last La Liga game prior to El Clasico against Barcelona (23 December) with Los Blancos having to play the Club World Cup between both games.

"Life gives us what we have. I agree that we could have done better at this start of the season but we are halfway there, that's it. Our first six months of the season are fine. We can finish in a fantastic way in the league with these two games that are left, making the next six months more interesting for everyone," Zidane said before encouraging Real fans to keep supporting his side when Sevilla visit the Bernabeu on Saturday.

"It'll definitely be difficult because Sevilla are a Champions League team that had a great season last time round. It's going to be complicated, difficult, because they're a good team that are playing very well and in a good position in the league," the Real boss added.

"The Bernabeu will be very important tomorrow. I want to send a message to our fans, to those who have always been behind the team. Tomorrow we need them. It's an important day and we want the fans behind us. Those who really love this club don't forget what these players have done. We ask them to get behind us from the first minute until the last because if the fans are behind us, the team will win for sure."