Bale bails on Wales to stay in Madrid

In a Real turn-up for the books, Gareth Bale will not be joining up with the Wales camp during the upcoming international break and will instead be staying behind in Madrid to continue his recovery from injury.

Carlo Ancelotti confirmed this news earlier on Friday, stating: "I think Bale is staying here to train for the next 15 days". This development came just hours after the Wales coach Chris Coleman explained why he had called up Bale for the clashes with Macedonia and Belgium despite his fitness problems.

"I spoke to the doctor and he filled me in on the particulars. You always hope because sometimes you have a slight problem but we like to try and get him here to see how serious it is".

Following talks between Real Madrid, the forward and the Welsh FA, an agreement was reached for Bale to be exempted from international duty in order to undertake a specific regime to address his muscle issues once and for all.

"We may have to liaise with Wales, but I think in the end he's staying here and he should be ready for the first match after the break. He's not happy because he was really looking forward to playing [midweek against FC Copenhagen]", Ancelotti said during Friday's press conference.