Gareth Bale: Wales and Real Madrid forward has 'important' injury, says Carlo Ancelotti
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Gareth Bale training with Real Madrid
Carlo Ancelotti is unsure when Gareth Bale will return to action after suffering what the Real Madrid boss described as an "important" injury.
Bale, 32, has missed Real's last two games following reports he picked up a hamstring problem in training.
The Wales captain had made a bright start to the season after returning to favour at Real, having spent last season on loan at Tottenham Hotspur.
"It's an important injury," said former Everton manager Ancelotti.
"It's difficult to gauge the amount of time he is going to be on the sidelines."
Four-time Champions League winner Bale rejoined former club Spurs on loan in 2020-21 having become a fringe figure at Real under Zinedine Zidane.
But following Ancelotti's return to the Bernabeu in June, Bale has been welcomed back into the fold.
He started their first three games of the season - and claimed his first goal of the campaign against Levante - before making three appearances for Wales earlier this month, including the 3-2 World Cup qualifying victory against Belarus in which he scored a hat-trick.
It was while preparing for Real's first game after the international break, against Celta Vigo on 12 September, that Bale was reported to have got injured.
"It's a real shame because he was in good shape," Ancelotti told a press conference ahead of Real's La Liga meeting with Valencia.
"He had been working really well, had done well with Wales, had done well with Real Madrid.
"We just have to wait and see now, sometimes these things happen. We have a lot of games and when players play a lot of games, there is more chance of getting injured."
Bale had been set to win his 100th cap in Wales' World Cup qualifier against Czech Republic on 8 October, but there are now question marks over whether he will be fit for that game.
Robert Page's side sit third in their Group E qualifying for the 2022 Qatar World Cup, level on points with the Czechs, but nine points behind leaders Belgium.
They have a second away qualifier, against Estonia, on 11 October.
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