Gareth Bale misses Real Madrid training after picking up strain in Roma friendly

The Welshman played nearly an hour in the Spanish giants' pre-season opener and injured his hip.

Gareth Bale was forced to spend Monday in the gym after Real Madrid doctors ruled him out of training on the Spanish club's pre-season tour.

Only full-back Danilo played more minutes than the Welshman in Madrid's friendly defeat to Roma in Melbourne on Saturday, and the winger paid the price with a hip problem that prevented him from joining in with his teammates on the training pitch.

The word out of the Bernabeu club is that his absence was only precautionary, and that he is still in line to face Manchester City at the MCG on Friday.

Bale needs to bounce back after a tough campaign last year, with his struggles partially attributed to a frosty on-field relationship with Cristiano Ronaldo .

And the game with Roma appeared to show that their bond hasn't grown any stronger during the off season.

During Los Blancos' pre-season clash with the Serie A giants, Ronaldo was visibly frustrated with Bale for not playing him in for a shot at goal.

Bale's decision not to pass to the Portugal star came back to bite him and the team as Roma ended up taking home the spoils .

The two sides played out a 0-0 draw at the MCG - before the Italians won the game on penalties.