Real Madrid Welshman will sit out Espanyol as a precaution

Abruised hip sustained in the 2-1 victory over Sporting CP will keep Gareth Bale out of Real Madrid's game against Espanyol this weekend, but initial tests suggest that the problem is far from serious.

The Welshman produced a lively performance on Wednesday night that drew a standing ovation from the Estadio Santiago Bernabeu, before eventually being substituted just past the hour mark, and is now set to undergo further tests to establish the full extent of the problem.

As it stands, Real Madrid have implemented a recovery programme for the 27-year-old that should see him return in time to face Villarreal on Wednesday evening.

Such news, if confirmed by the latest scan, will come as a boost to Zinedine Zidane and his team, who had previously feared that the in-form attacker would miss a larger number of the coming games.

James Rodriguez and Lucas Vazquez - both impressive off the bench in the win over the Portuguese side - will battle it out to replace Bale in the starting lineup this weekend, with another super sub, Alvaro Morata, on course to start ahead of Karim Benzema in the game at Estadio Cornella El-Prat.

Other changes will see a recall for the prodigiously talented Marco Asensio, and the possible reintroduction of Mateo Kovacic, who is set to feature at the expense of Toni Kroos or Luka Modric.