Bale, Mariano miss Madrid's practice ahead of Valladolid clash

Wales winger Gareth Bale and striker Mariano Diaz of the Dominican Republic, best known as Mariano, did not take part in Real Madrid's last training session ahead of a Real Valladolid encounter in La Liga.

Bale is suffering from a sprained right ankle he sustained by the end of his team's 4-1 thrashing at the hands of the Netherlands' Ajax in the second leg of the UEFA Champions League last-16 tie on Tuesday, and he is to miss Sunday's match vs Valladolid, reports Efe news.

"The Real Madrid squad completed their final training session ahead of the trip to the Jose Zorrilla (stadium) for the La Liga encounter against Real Valladolid," the club said on its website.

In addition to Bale and Mariano, right-back Daniel Carvajal, midfielder Marcos Llorente, and wingers Lucaz Vazques and Vinicius Jr. did not participate in the group practice due to their respective injuries.

Bale and Mariano trained inside the club's facilities, their injured teammates were continuing with their respective recovery programmes, it added.

The five players were expected to be dropped as well as captain Sergio Ramos who will be serving a one-match ban for yellow card accumulation, having earned a fifth booking in the 1-0 defeat to Barcelona.

Argentine head coach Santiago Solari oversaw the session, which could be his last as Madrid's coach according to local media, for which he called up B-team goalie Mohamed Airam Ramos Wade, best known as Moha.

In the wake of the injuries, Solari will have to introduce new faces to his lineup for Sunday's away La Liga game against Valladolid.

--IANS

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