WALES will be without star man Gareth Bale for Thursday night’s mouth-watering friendly against Spain – but boss Ryan Giggs says there’s still a chance the Real Madrid ace could feature in Dublin next week.

A crowd of more than 50,000 are expected to be at Cardiff’s Principality Stadium (kick-off 7.45pm) as Giggs’ men take on the 2010 World Cup winners and three-time European champions.

However, a muscle problem means 29-year-old Bale sits out the first meeting between the nations since 1985 – it is also Wales’ first game at the capital city venue in seven years.

Bale was substituted late on in Real’s 1-0 La Liga loss to Alaves on Saturday having missed his club’s Champions League defeat by CSKA Moscow four days earlier with a groin injury.

Despite missing tomorrow night’s encounter against the country where he has plied his trade since the summer of 2013, Bale is “50-50” to be involved in next Tuesday’s Nations League clash with Ireland.

Speaking today, Giggs said: “He’s got a little bit of muscle fatigue from the weekend, nothing serious, and we’re just monitoring it daily.

“We’ve given him every chance for Tuesday. He’s probably 50-50, but obviously we don’t want to take any risks.

“If he is able to play then good, if he’s not then so be it. We’re preparing for both scenarios but obviously my mind is just on Spain and after that we’ll concentrate on Ireland.

“The decision is he’s not fit. Of course we’re in consultation with Madrid, it’s nothing serious, it’s just what’s best for Gareth, the team and everyone involved.”

He added: "He had a scan a couple of weeks ago with Real Madrid.

"We rescanned it and have done everything we can to get as much information.

"We're treating the symptoms but it's nothing to be worried about at all, either way I expect him to be fit for Madrid's next game.

"When you have niggly injuries it's maybe at the back of your mind until you're flying again, but I'm not worried and Gareth isn't worried.

"It's something of nothing but it's a short turnaround and we'll take no chances.

"With him playing in Spain he wants to be a part of it (the friendly), but his health comes first – we want a fit and raring-to-go Gareth Bale.”

With Bale unavailable, Giggs will need to re-think things when it comes to his attacking options.

“We’ve got Sam Vokes, Tom Lawrence and Tyler Roberts who can all play up top, or we can play two up top,” he said.

“We have options, and we need those options because Gareth sometimes isn’t going to be there, which we’ve experienced in the past.

“That was something I was aware of when I took over, that we need something different, we can’t be relying on our top players, and that’s why I tried to push a lot of young players through and give them that experience.

“We need to have a plan B if our best players aren’t available, and if they aren’t then we’ve got players underneath who are pushing them – even if the top players are available.”

Giggs confirmed that the Principality Stadium’s roof will be closed for the match in Cardiff, before which Bale is set to receive an award for becoming Wales’ all-time leading scorer.