(Reuters) – Welsh captain Gareth Bale will miss the World Cup qualifiers against the Czech Republic and Estonia next month as the forward is still recovering from a “significant” hamstring injury, manager Robert Page said.

Bale, who is in the final year of his contract with Real Madrid and spent last season on loan at ex-team Tottenham Hotspur, suffered an injury in training with the Spanish team last month but was due come back in October.

The 32-year-old has not been included in Wales’ 28-man squad for the games on October 8 and 11, although Page expects his talisman to be in good shape by November.

“You rank the hamstring injuries from one to four, and his is closer to four, so it’s a pretty big hamstring tear,” Page told reporters Tuesday.

“We have been in contact with him and our medical department to see how things are going. Unfortunately, this camp has come too early for him.”

Bale has 99 caps for Wales and can reach triple in November against Belarus and Belgium.

“Initially, the (injury) may have even progressed in the November camp, but luckily he is recovering better than expected. We’re pretty sure he will be fine for November,” Page added .

Wales are third in Group E after four games, tied at seven points with the Czech Republic, who have played one more game. Belgium lead the group with 16 points in six games.

(Reporting by Shrivathsa Sridhar in Bengaluru; editing by Peter Rutherford)