Gareth Bale's Real Madrid impact praised by Luka Modric

Luka Modric has praised Gareth Bale's efforts since his arrival at Real Madrid, who host Borussia Dortmund in Champions League on Wednesday.

Croatia midfielder Modric says the Wales star and world's most expensive player "is doing very well".

Bale's ex-Tottenham team-mate Modric added: "He... has scored a lot of goals and given many assists.

"He is a very important player for us. I don't think he has been very selfish."

Bale will not revert to left-back amid Real Madrid's injury problems ahead of their quarter-final first leg against Dortmund.

Real manager Carlo Ancelotti is instead likely to replace injured Brazilian Marcelo with Fabio Coentra.

"Bale at full-back is not an option for us," said Ancelotti.

"We have a problem with Marcelo, but we can cover his absence well with Coentrao."

Bale scored twice in Real's 5-0 win over Rayo Vallecano on Sunday, but has been criticised in some quarters for not having an impact in some of their bigger La Liga games this season, including a 4-3 home defeat by Barcelona.

Ancelotti says Bale's inconsistency is down to his position and attacking style of play.

"I think it is true he is a little intermittent, but that is a characteristic of all forwards and especially very quick players," said Ancelotti.

"Players with that speed can't have a continuous influence likes other players with different characteristics like [midfielder] Xabi Alonso.

"His inconsistency is a physical characteristic of the player, like Cristiano (Ronaldo) or (Karim) Benzema. It is not an attitude problem."