Carlo Ancelotti has confirmed that Gareth Bale and Luka Modric both sustained injuries during Real Madrid’s 3-1 victory over Malaga in La Liga on Saturday.
The Welshman was hauled off with a suspected calf knock inside just four minutes at the Santiago Bernabeu, before his former Tottenham colleague was unable to continue on the hour mark after he came off worse for wear from a 50-50 with Recio.
“Modric has a knee problem and Bale [has one with his] calf, but we can’t say anything just yet,” the Coach said after the game.
“We’ll evaluate them both in the coming days, but they’re not completely ruled out [for the rest of the season].
“[Fabio] Coentrao will be the first choice [to replace the suspended Marcelo]. Then there are [Alvaro] Arbeloa or Nacho [Fernandez].
“We had a couple of problems, but the team could still win with 1,000 problems [on their back] after they missed the penalty.
“I think he’ll be back [for Atletico Madrid] because his condition’s improving. We have four days [until then] and the chances of him recovering are high.
“The midfielders played well. James gave a lot of quality to the team. Isco wasn’t very good in the first half but [he improved in] the second. Everyone sacrificed themselves.
“I hope the title isn’t decided before the last day. We’re still in the title race and both [ourselves and Barcelona] have tough games because there’s lots at stake for everyone.
“Everyone has their opinion [on referees]. For me, the referee had a normal game. The most important decision was [giving] the penalty and it seemed very clear.
“[Barca] have the advantage, but we’ll try to do well in all our remaining matches.
“Our fans were with the team. We suffer together and have fun together.”
