Wales expect captain Gareth Bale to be available for World Cup play-off semi-final against Austria

Wales are hopeful Gareth Bale will be fit for Thursday’s World Cup play-off with Austria despite the Real Madrid forward missing the El Clasico defeat to Barcelona.

Bale was omitted from Real Madrid’s 23-man matchday squad against Barcelona on Sunday, with reports in Spain saying the Wales captain was absent due to back pain.

But the 32-year-old has joined up with the national team ahead of their play-off semi-final against Austria – and the Dragons expect the 100-times capped forward will make Thursday’s clash at the Cardiff City Stadium.

Speaking after their 4-0 Bernabeu humbling to Barcelona, Real boss Carlo Ancelotti said of Bale: “He didn’t feel well yesterday after training. He tried this morning but he wasn’t up to playing.

“He’s now going to join up with his national team and they’ll decide whether he plays or not.”

Bale has endured a miserable season in what is set to be the last of his nine-year stay in Madrid.

The 32-year-old has played just 77 minutes of club football since featuring against Real Betis on August 28.

Bale suffered a hamstring injury in September and then sustained a calf complaint after winning his 100th Wales cap against Belarus in November.

His only club appearances since came last month, a LaLiga start against Villarreal and a brief Champions League cameo as a substitute away to Paris St Germain.

Aaron Ramsey has also joined up with Robert Page’s squad after making his first Scottish Premiership start for Rangers since his January loan move from Juventus.

Ramsey’s lack of match fitness had seen him restricted to a couple of starts in the Scottish Cup and three other appearances from the bench.

But he played 84 minutes against Dundee on Sunday and scored his first Rangers goal in a 2-1 victory.

Austria boss Franco Foda has had to make four changes to his squad, with defenders Christopher Trimmel and Philipp Lienhart and midfielders Florian Grillitsch and Dejan Ljubicic dropping out.

Bristol City’s Andreas Weimann returns to the Austria squad for the first time for seven years, with Lens’ former Southampton defender Kevin Danso, Stefan Ilsanker and Alessandro Schopf also called up.bet365 sport. To add to the In-Play excitement, bet365 stream over hundreds of events live to your PC every year. So you can bet as the action unfolds. See all upcoming sport events you can bet at bet experts. Highlights include Masters Series Tennis tournaments and matches from some of the top domestic Soccer leagues in the world. To use the Live Streaming service you need to be log in and have a funded account. Or to have place a bet in the last 24 hours. Any fixture/event on bet365 website and bet365 mobile which has the Play or Video icon is schedule to be show via Live Streaming. bet bg

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