Real Madrid coach Zinedine Zidane says be will support Gareth Bale “to the end” after leaving the Welsh winger out of his squad for Saturday’s derby win over Atletico.
Bale has not featured since injuring his ankle in the Copa del Rey clash away to Unionistas de Salamanca 10 days ago, but trained normally this week and was expected to play some part against Atleti.
However, his name was not on the 19-man list for the derby, which Madrid won thanks to a second-half goal from Karim Benzema.
Asked in his post-match press conference if Bale was left out due to a fitness issue, Zidane said: “He was available. When it came to deciding, I picked others.”
And when it was put to him that the 30-year-old’s status at Real could be affected by being excluded from Saturdays’s game, he said: “No, not at all.
“He’s fine and I’ll continue to count on him until the end.”
