Real Madrid star Gareth Bale 'ruled out' for El Clasico but Casemiro returns

Real Madrid have confirmed Gareth Bale suffered "a traumatic dislocation of the peroneal tendons of his right ankle" during the Champions League 2-1 victory over Sporting Portugal. The club have not put a timeframe on his recovery but reports in Spain assure that he will miss the first El Clasico of the season at Barcelona on 3 December.

The former Tottenham star was replaced by Marco Asensio in the 55th minute of the game against the Portuguese giants following a tackle from Sebastian Coates. Zinedine Zidane confirmed after the game that the Welshman had twisted his ankle, but refused to confirm whether he would be ready to recover in time for the trip to Barcelona.

"Bale has something wrong with his ankle, but we don't exactly know what it is. I don't think it's a knock. It's more of a twisted ankle," Zidane confirmed in his post-match press conference.

However, when asked whether Bale will be ready to play against the Catalans, he added: "It's premature to talk about that because we don't yet know what's wrong with him. Let's see. Tomorrow he'll have a medical examination and we'll know more. I can't say more. It's not a knock but I don't know the exact issue."

Subsequent scans have confirmed the injury but the club have also failed to set a timeline in the recovery.

"After tests carried out on our player Gareth Bale at the Sanitas La Moraleja University Hospital, he has been diagnosed with a traumatic dislocation of the peroneal tendons of his right ankle. His recovery will continue to be assessed," Real Madrid have confirmed through an official statement.

Los Blancos face Sporting Gijon on weekend and Cultural Leonesa (Copa del Rey) next week before the first El Clasico of the season against Barcelona on 3 December.

Both AS and Marca are claiming that Bale will miss the visit to the Nou Camp as the injury should keep him out of action four around three or four weeks. Marcelo also limped off during the Champions League clash but Real Madrid are yet to give any update on the left-back situation.

Meanwhile, in more positive news, the club have revealed that Casemiro was back in training on Thursday morning following more than two months out.

The Brazilian is yet to play a game since the 2-0 victory over Espanyol on 18 September, having then diagnosed with a fracture to the central third of his left fibula. But the 24-year-old midfielder looks in line to return to action before the trip to Barcelona as the Brazilian was back in training on Wednesday.

"The big story from the training session was the return of Casemiro to the group," Real Madrid confirmed.

Pepe, Alvaro Morata and Toni Kroos remain on the sidelines and the last two are also major doubts for El Clasico.

"Pepe went through the first part of the session with his teammates and then underwent some individual work. The Whites did an exercises involving control, passing and possession before playing a match against Castilla. Morata and Kroos continue their recovery processes."