Real Madrid and Spain international midfielder Xabi Alonso virtually admitted on Tuesday that he will not be able to take part in the first meeting between his club and FC Barcelona in the Camp Nou Stadium on October 26.

Alonso has been sidelined since the end of last season with a pelvic injury which saw him forced to pull out of the Confederations Cup in June and has spent what he described as a " complicated" summer getting himself close to fitness.

However, with the first 'Classico' away, Alonso was unwilling to say whether he would be able to play a role.

"I hope I will be back soon, but I don't have a date," he said at a publicity event. "This is a difficult injury to recover from and although I am close to a return, I still have a way to go.I am working on it and speak to the doctors every day, but we don' t want to rush things and suffer a relapse," he explained. Alonso' s injury means he has not actually played in a side coached by new coach, Carlo Ancelotti, but the midfielder is pleased with what he has seen so far, despite his side being five points behind joint league leaders, FC Barcelona and Atletico Madrid.

"You can tell he (Ancelotti) was a player and he knows how you experience things inside a team. He also knows what it is like to be injured and how to speak to players. We had the basis of the team in place before he arrived, but we have had some good signings and young players come through. We have to improve bit by bit and there are things we still have to polish, but we are doing good things," said Alonso, who was also asked about star signing, Gareth Bale.

Bale has had a difficult time since joining Madrid at the end of the summer and is currently aiming to be fit to play at least a small role next weekend, however, he has lacked match fitness and recent rumors about him suffering a distal hernia have not helped him enjoy a smooth arrival.

"When he began playing in the Premier League, I was still there and he started as a full back, but he has enjoyed a meteoric progression," said Alonso, who is "sure" Bale will soon be back to his best. "it's just a matter of him being able to play some matches, I am convinced of that," he concluded.