Bale returned from a hamstring injury which has kept him out for two months to win his 100th cap in Saturday's 5-1 victory over Belarus, but was withdrawn at half-time; watch Wales vs Belgium live on Sky Sports Football on Tuesday from 7pm
Monday 15 November 2021 14:24, UK
Wales captain Gareth Bale will not start Tuesday's World Cup qualifier against Belgium - and could miss out altogether.
Bale returned from a hamstring injury which has kept him out for two months to win his 100th cap in Saturday's 5-1 victory over Belarus, but was withdrawn at half-time.
The Real Madrid forward, who has made just three appearances for the Spanish club this season, trained on his own away from Wales' main group on Monday.
Wales will make a late decision on whether their record goal-scorer makes the bench for the game against the world's top-ranked team, which is live on Sky Sports.
Wales manager Rob Page said: "He was never going to start against Belgium.
"We knew that coming into camp. The plan was always for him to get a half in the first game and then come on and maybe have an impact in the second game."
On Bale's recovery following the Belarus game, Page said: "He is going to be stiff. He has not played for a couple of months and to throw him in was a big ask from a physical point of view.
"He'll recover on his own (on Monday) and we'll leave it to the last minute to see if he can play minutes. He is getting there, slowly but surely. We will get him back to full fitness.
"It's frustrating for him. He made a tremendous effort to get fit for the game and he takes credit for that."
Wales are guaranteed a World Cup play-off spot in March through their Nations League results.
But Page's side need at least a point against Belgium to finish second in the group and potentially secure a semi-final tie at home.
