Zinedine Zidane insists he has no problem with Gareth Bale’s Wales call-up despite calf injury as Real Madrid boss reiterates desire for Welshman to stay ‘until the end of the season’
- Gareth Bale has not played since appearing for Wales in last international break
- He has not featured for Real Madrid and won’t play against Galatasaray this week
- Manager Zinedine Zidane says the Welshman is not fit to play due to a calf injury
- Yet Bale has been called up to the Wales squad by national team boss Ryan Giggs
Zinedine Zidane is not concerned by Wales’ call-up of Gareth Bale, despite the Welshman having not played since the last international break in October.
Bale was called up to the Wales squad on Tuesday for their Euro 2020 qualifiers against Azerbaijan and Hungary by boss Ryan Giggs, despite having not played since scoring in Wales’ last game against Croatia on October 13.
A calf injury has ruled him out of Real’s last four games in all competitions, and he is set to miss five on the bounce as he won’t feature at home to Galatasaray in the Champions League on Wednesday, according to Real manager Zidane.
Zinedine Zidane was keen to offload Gareth Bale in the summer but he stayed in Madrid
Gareth Bale has not played since scoring against Croatia for Wales in a 1-1 draw on October 13
Asked a barrel of questions regarding Bale at his pre-match press conference, Zidane said: ‘We want Bale to be fine but he is not ready yet.
‘If Wales call on Bale, they have the right to. The player has been called. No one can get into these things.
‘Bale is not available right now, it’s the only thing I can tell you. I don’t know anything about the conversation that Bale had with Giggs.’
The Spanish press slammed Bale for joining up with the Wales squad, continually framing him as ‘the golfer’ in newspaper reports on Tuesday.
But despite his call-up, with Wales’ Euro 2020 qualification hopes in the balance, Zidane was adamant that if Bale wasn’t fit, he wouldn’t play for his country in the fortnight.
‘It doesn’t bother me that Bale will go with Wales without having played with Madrid,’ Zidane explained. ‘If Bale is not ready, he won’t play with Wales.
Ryan Giggs is looking to guide Wales to their second consecutive European Championships
Bale has not featured for Real Madrid since the La Liga game against Granada on October 5
‘I don’t get into the subject if the press is unfair to Bale. We have to put up with what is said outside.
‘Bale is not comfortable being out of the team. I have a good relationship with Bale. We say good morning every day.’
Zidane also defended Bale leaving the stadium before the completion of matches in recent weeks – another focal point of criticism from the Spanish press – saying: ‘When I used to play the same thing happened.’
