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Real Madrid winger Gareth Bale has returned to the club to begin his recovery after being ruled out of Wales' World Cup qualifiers with injury this week.
The Football Association of Wales (FAW) confirmed on Tuesday that scans had discovered a left calf problem -- which Madrid later specified as an "inflammation" in the muscle, not a tear -- meaning Bale would be unavailable for Friday's game in Georgia and Monday's crunch game against Republic of Ireland.
There had been reports in Spain that the issue was a new problem Bale picked up while training with Wales, but FAW sources told ESPN FC that this was not the case.
A Madrid statement confirmed that Bale was back at the club's Valdebebas facility on Friday to begin his recovery on what is the 18th different injury he has suffered since joining the European champions from Tottenham in 2013.
"The Whites continued training without the 14 players who are away on international duty," the statement read. "The Castilla stars Dani Gomez, Jaime, Quezada, Franchu, Oscar and [Alvaro] Tejero trained alongside the seven first-team players who were available.
Gareth Bale is currently sidelined with a calf injury.
"The session, which was held on pitch three, featured rondo style drills, possession work in tight spaces, and crossing and shooting before playing a match. Marcelo completed the training session along with the group. [Mateo] Kovacic, [Dani] Carvajal and Bale continued with their recovery processes."
Marcelo's return to training means the left-back should be back for Madrid's next game at Getafe on Oct. 14, with Theo Hernandez and Karim Benzema also expected to be available then.
It is not yet clear how many games Bale will miss with his latest problem, although reports in Spain suggest he is unlikely to feature in either of October's Champions League group matches against his former club Tottenham.
Carvajal's situation is also complicated as the right-back has been ordered to rest completely given the seriousness of his heart problem.
This means that even when given the medical all-clear, Carvajal will need a mini preseason to return to fitness, with AS reporting it will be late-November at least before he is able to return to action.
Dermot Corrigan is a Madrid-based football writer who covers La Liga and the Spain national team for ESPN FC. Follow him on Twitter @dermotmcorrigan
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Source: espn.co.uk