text: Gareth Bale pulled up with a calf strain after just two minutes of Real Madrid’s league game on Saturday and will almost certainly miss the second leg of the Champions League against Atletico Madrid on Wednesday. One year and two days, after one of his greatest moments at Real Madrid when he ran half the length of the pitch to score the winner in the Copa del Rey final, Bale broke down with a muscle pull against Malaga. He will have further tests on the left calf muscle in the next 24 hours but the concern shown when he went down at the start of Real’s crucial league game suggested his chances of recovering inside three days are non-existent and that he could also face a race to be fit for the Champions League semi-final on May 5-6. Gareth Bale went down injured after less than five minutes at the Bernabeu on Saturday evening . The Welsh forward was forced off and faces a race to be fit for Real's Champions League quarter-final . Cristiano Ronaldo was the first player to go across to Bale as he sat waiting for treatment and the Welshman’s expression spoke volumes – he knew he would not be able to carry on and could now miss out on Real’s most important game of the season. Bale has not been injured since October of last year when a hip problem kept him out for three weeks. The team won all their games without him with a four-man midfield of Luka Modric, James Rodriguez, Toni Kroos and Isco with Ronaldo and Karim Benzema up front. That will be Carlo Ancelotti’s selection for the game on Wednesday if Benzema recovers from the knee knock that kept him out of Saturday’s meeting with Malaga. Bale’s absence will be a massive blow for Ancelotti however. He said in midweek: ‘Bale was fantastic last season and has been very good this year. He scored goals in the finals last season and he will be important for us as this season reaches its climax.’ Cristiano Ronaldo was the first Madrid player to go over to Bale, and they eventually beat Malaga 3-1 .
target: Gareth Bale suffered a calf strain on Saturday evening at the Bernabeu .
  The Welshman was forced off in the early moments against Malaga .
  Bale will almost certainly miss the clash with Atletico on Wednesday .