Real deny Bale surgery reports

An interesting scenario is developing in Madrid with Real Madrid forced to issue a statement denying reports that Gareth Bale has suffered a lumbar disc hernia in his back that would require him to undergo surgery.

The revelation came in traditionally Real-friendly Marca, with the newspaper claiming that the injury explains why the world-record signing has been suffering from a thigh muscle injury since his arrival in Spain.

Bale has played just 132 minutes since his £86m switch at the end of the summer transfer window, although Real have acted quickly to play down fears that the injury is serious.

A statement released by the club said: “It is completely false that the player has a discal hernia between vertebrae L5-S1 as reported by Marca. The player has a small chronic protrusion in a spinal disc that will not affect him playing.”

The club are confident that he is still on for his predicted comeback ahead of their crucial Champions League match with Juventus on October 23 and the first El Classico of the season when they meet Barcelon three days later.

Marca claimed that the injury had been spotted by medical staff on the day of Bale’s presentation and said that the player suffered no pain and could continue playing for now, but that in the future he could suffer pain or be forced to have an operation.

Marca gathered the opinions of several doctors, one of whom, Dr. Avelino Parajón, said: “If Real Madrid have signed Gareth Bale knowing about this protrusion, they have committed an error”.

“That is not to say that tomorrow it can be operated on and he can continue playing, like has happened many times. But if he already has problems with protruding discs, that indicates that it is not a one-off.

“When a person has those problems at that age, it suggests that he has a great possibility of suffering herniated discs and symptoms arising from that over time. It is a bad sign for any athlete.”