Real Madrid confirm Bale out for at least a fortnight

Real Madrid have confirmed that Gareth Bale has suffered an injury to the soleus muscle in his left calf and will be out of action for between two weeks and a month.

Bale picked up the injury shortly before halftime during his side's 2-2 draw away to Villarreal on Thursday night and was replaced by Isco for the second half of the game.

It is the 22nd injury he has suffered during his Real Madrid career and the 14th time he has had to be replaced during a game due to physical problems.

The club carried out tests on Bale on Saturday morning and then published the results shortly after. Despite the Welshman's long history of injury problems, it is the first time Real Madrid have published a medical report on him in 15 months.

The injury means that in the best case scenario Bale will miss Sunday's Liga Santander game at home to Real Sociedad and their difficult trip to play Betis the following weekend and he will also be unavailable for both legs of their Copa del Rey last 16 tie against Leganes.

If the injury sidelines Bale for more than a fortnight and his injury history doesn't invite optimism, he could also miss league games against Sevilla and Espanyol and the quarterfinals of the Cup if Madrid get past Leganes.