Terrassa, November 11: Gareth Bale is quite an athlete. His privileged physique gives him an advantage over rivals. At Real Madrid, Bale has had moments of all kinds, though the last two years has been a hell of sorts for the 28-year-old.

The latest setback could be the end of the road for the Welshman, who has been injured again, at the world's richest club. Bale has suffered 20 injuries since he was signed by Real in a record breaking move from Premier League club Tottenham Hotspur. Since then Bale has lost 40 of the last 60 games and overall 73 matches for Real.

Bale, who has not played since the Champions League Group H away tie against Borussia Dortmund on September 26, has suffered a hamstring injury in training and could be out for up to a month and did not excercise on Friday at Valdebebas. The club has issued a medical report with a description of the injury but are waiting to see how it develops.

"Our player, Gareth Bale, who felt some discomfort in his left leg at the end of training on Thursday has been the subject of tests at the Real Madrid Sanitas Medical Centre. He has been diagnosed with a tear in the hamstring," read the statement.

It means Zinedine Zidane will have to play through December without Real's club-record signing.

The footballer was expected to reappear against Atletico Madrid but the new injury could leave him out for the rest of the year.

At the white club they are beginning to lose patience. Despite the treatment of favour from club president Florentino Perez and coach Zinedine Zidane, things has a limit.

According to report in Spanish website Diario Gol, the Welshman suffers "a fibrillary rupture in the middle third of the muscle adductor long of the right leg ". It's pending evaluation.

Isco Alarcón and Marco Asensio are the players who benefit the most from the absence of Bale. "I send a hug and a lot of encouragement to Bale, who surely is having a bad time," said Isco about Bale.

Fans have been desperate to see Bale reunite with Cristiano Ronaldo and Karim Benzema -- Zidane's "BBC" -- in attack following the club's slow start to the campaign.

But the Welshman is now unlikely to feature until after the winter break, and is far from guaranteed a spot back in the starting XI following some good performances from Isco and Marco Asensio.

Bale had only just returned to training after spending five weeks on the sidelines with a calf injury.

Now, Zidane's long vigil to reunite the "BBC" will continue for at least another month.

Bale had shown flashes of form before he succumbed to another recurrence of the calf issue that has dogged his Real career on that September 26 night in Dortmund. The Welshman's stunning volley and an assist in the Westfalenstadion hinted at a timely return to something approaching his best, but Bale's stop-start Bernabeu career was summed up when the injury flared again in Germany. He has not featured since.

The last time the "BBC" were together on the pitch was on April 23 when Real fell to a 2-3 Clasico defeat in the Barnabeu. Bale did not last until half-time, limping off to be replaced by Asensio.

With the January transfer window looming large, a move for the Cardiff Express away from Madrid seems inevitable.