Bale ruled out again

Real Madrid forward Gareth Bale has been ruled out of Saturday's La Liga game at Athletic Bilbao, coach Zinedine Zidane said on Friday, after the Wales international picked up yet another injury on his return to action on Tuesday after 63 days out.

The French coach also added that captain Sergio Ramos will play wearing a protective mask after breaking his nose in the Madrid derby a fortnight ago.

Bale came on in the 62nd minute of the King's Cup last-32 second leg match against Fuenlabrada and had an immediate impact, setting up two goals for team mate Borja Mayoral in a 2-2 draw, with Real progressing 4-2 on aggregate.

Any hopes that this would be the start of a comeback from Bale were quickly dashed the following day, however, with reports he had been ruled out of the game with Athletic with another calf injury.

"It's not much, just discomfort, but as he's been out for so long it's difficult, I hope it's just a physical problem and is only discomfort," Zidane told a news conference on Friday.

"He needs to be with the team, train with the team and feel like another member of the squad. We keep telling him this, that this is a tough time for him but he'll come out of it, and we'll keep supporting him until he is better."