Gareth Bale Leaves El Clasico vs. Barcelona with Calf Injury

Real Madrid forward Gareth Bale left the pitch after 39 minutes of Sunday's Clasico against Barcelona when the calf injury that has bothered him for the last few weeks appeared to flare up again.

Per Planet Futbol, he was a surprise starter in the first place given his struggles:

Bale's 2016-17 season has been disrupted by injury issues. The Welshman missed a significant chunk of the term with an ankle problem, and he was also absent for Madrid's UEFA Champions League quarter-final second leg against Bayern Munich with the aforementioned calf problem.

These fitness issues are becoming more and more of a concern for the player, especially as he seeks to establish himself as one of the best in the world.

When he is in the Los Blancos side, Bale makes a massive difference. Although Real have a plethora of attacking stars on their books, none can get a grip on a game in the final third quite like the former Tottenham Hotspur man.

Whether he's deployed on the right flank, the left flank or through the middle, Bale's ability to drive forward in possession, whip crosses into the box and fire off stinging shots from distance makes him a huge threat.

Of course, Real have Cristiano Ronaldo and Karim Benzema to score the goals, while the inventiveness of Isco, Marco Asensio and Lucas Vazquez means Los Blancos are never short of creativity. They don't have a player to mesh those qualities quite like Bale does, though.

With that in mind, this latest issue is another blow to the Madrid cause and will add to the burgeoning concerns about Bale's ability to string together a prolonged run of matches without sustaining an injury.