Soccer-Madrid's Bale to miss Villarreal clash with muscle strain

By Richard Martin BARCELONA, 19 April (Reuters) - Gareth Bale has been ruled out of Real Madrid's La Liga match with Villarreal on Wednesday with a muscle strain, as coach Zinedine Zidane looks to keep an unexpected late bid for the title on track. Zidane also said he thought the Wales international, whose injury was not serious, had a long future at the club. Bale has only started 18 of 33 league games this season due to injury, missing seven weeks with a calf problem, and he ended Monday's training session early after feeling discomfort. Zidane expects him to return against Rayo Vallecano on Saturday. "We hope it's only a strain and I hope he'll be with us on Saturday," Zidane told a news conference. "The strain is in the back of his leg." Bale was a very important player for the team, the coach added. "He is young and can improve. He has a long future here because he has a long contract here. I have a very good relationship with him, he is a simple guy and his Spanish is improving." Madrid have made up nine points on Barcelona in the last three games, beginning with a 2-1 win over the champions at the Nou Camp, but Zidane said he was in no mood for celebrating. "We know we haven't won anything yet and have it all to play for...," he said. "I'm not thinking about Barcelona, I'm thinking more about what we have to do. You always have difficult moments in the season but that doesn't mean anything because they are still first in the table," added Zidane on Barca's dramatic fall in fortunes. "They are above us and ...all we can do is win all our games." (r.pmartin87@gmail.com; editing by John Stonestreet)