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Bale hopes injury 'not serious'

Madrid - Real Madrid coach Rafael Benitez fears Welsh star Gareth Bale could be set for a significant spell on the sidelines due to a calf muscle injury.

Bale was forced off after just half an hour of Madrid's 4-0 win over Shakhtar Donetsk to open the Spanish giants' Champions League campaign on Tuesday.

Karim Benzema opened the scoring before Cristiano Ronaldo struck his second hat-trick in as many games to move clear of Lionel Messi as the competition's all-time leading goalscorer with 80.

"Great win at home to kick off our #UCL campaign, gutted to go off but hopefully nothing too serious," Bale posted on his official Twitter account.

However, Benitez was more pessimistic over his chances of facing Granada on Saturday.

"Bale had a spasm in his calf muscle," said Benitez.

"We must wait a day or two to see how serious it is. He had a similar issue last year."


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