When Tottenham Hotspur drew Real Madrid in the Champions League group stage draw, the biggest talking point was about Gareth Bale (and to a lesser degree Luka Modric) coming home. However, it seems that to the disappointment of many that might not happen after all.

Bale has apparently picked up a niggling calf injury, and it’s enough that the Welsh FA has decided to send him back to Madrid for recuperation, meaning he’ll miss both of Wales’ final two World Cup qualifiers.

The Football Association of Wales can confirm that Gareth Bale will miss the upcoming World Cup qualifiers against Georgia and Republic of Ireland. Bale – who missed Real Madrid’s game against Espanyol on Sunday – arrived with the rest of the Wales squad on Sunday and attended Monday’s annual FAW Awards dinner at the team headquarters in Cardiff. But following dialogue with Real Madrid, Bale was sent for a scan and results confirmed that he wouldn’t be fit to feature.

And it gets worse: according to Spanish paper MARCA, Bale’s injury is enough that he’s expected to miss a month of action, which would rule him out of both Champions League matches against Spurs. It is apparently Bale’s 13th injury since he moved to the Bernabeu.

Now, it’s important to remember that the source is MARCA which is... well, let’s just call it “not always reliable.” But still. Not having a healthy Gareth Bale would certainly be a little bit of good news for Tottenham as they prepare to play back to back matches against the two time defending champions of Europe.

If it is true, however, I’ll be disappointed. Not only will it be newsworthy and exciting to have Bale back in London for a Champions League match against his old club, but it would certainly be more fun to beat Madrid with Bale than without. (Optimism!)