Bale absent in two decisive matches of Wales

Wales' number one star will not be able to play with his teammates against Georgia and the Republic of Ireland in the final two rounds of the 2018 World Cup qualifiers.

Bale is the spiritual and playing leader of Wales. Photo: Reuters.

Bale did not play in Sunday's match between Real and Espanyol. After returning to Wales, the 28-year-old sat out Monday's training session but is still expected to be fit for the next two games.

However, a final check-up revealed a calf injury that would keep Bale out of Wales' trip to Georgia. The player called up to replace Bale was striker Tom Bradshaw from Championship side Barnsley.

This is the second bad news for Bale after his four-year winning streak of Welsh Player of the Year was ended by Reading defender Chris Gunter. However, Bale's absence also causes a huge loss to coach Chris Coleman's team's campaign to qualify for the World Cup for the first time since 1958.

Wales are second in Group D of the European qualifiers, four points behind leaders Serbia with two games left to play. If Wales are to qualify directly for Russia next summer, they need to win their final two games and wait for Serbia to stumble.

If Wales cannot overtake Serbia as the top team, they will have to stay in second place to qualify for the play-offs. Wales are currently just one point ahead of the third-placed Republic of Ireland and need four more points to secure second place (due to their direct match against the Republic of Ireland in the final round).

Wales will travel to Georgia on October 6 before returning home to host the Republic of Ireland on October 9.

According to VNE