Six months and still no 'bbc'

Another match in which Real Madrid will not deploy the 'bbc' up front, and it will be at least another month before Bale recovers, making it seven months since the Welshman played alongside Ronaldo and Benzema.

April 23. La Liga's 'El Clasico' fixture took place at the Santiago Bernabeu, with the Spanish champions losing 3-2 and Bale picking up a calf injury that saw him sidelined for the remainder of the season. That was the last time the 'bbc' started together.

Since then, Zinedine Zidane has only had the chance to play Bale, Benzema and Ronaldo together on three occasions, but things have not worked out. The Welshman forced his recovery to make it to the Champions League final in his hometown, but the French manager picked Isco to start. Bale came on in the second half, but he replaced Benzema so the 'bbc' did not coincide on the pitch.

After a long summer of speculation, Zidane was again awarded the chance to utilise his attacking trio in the UEFA and Spanish Supercups. This time, Ronaldo started on the bench and replaced Benzema after the break.

It seems fate dows not want the trio to converge. In the Champions League, the 'bbc' were expected to play together against APOEL, but Benzema injured his hamstring. That injury was then overlapped by Bale's current struggles.