Jose Mourinho has suggested to Football London that Tottenham Hotspur’s Gareth Bale will be put back in his side’s squad tomorrow if he makes himself available.
Spurs are set to take on Manchester City at the Etihad Stadium on Saturday, and Bale’s involvement in the contest isn’t certain.
The Welshman pulled out of Spurs’s game against Everton in midweek, after suffering with ‘bad feelings’ after training.
Bale had posted on Instagram that he had enjoyed a ‘good session’ the day before the game.
But Mourinho insists the post wasn’t a true reflection of the story.
And it will now be up to Bale over whether he comes back into Spurs’s team for the weekend.
“I have to admit that his post created a need of being addressed,” he said.
“There was a contradiction between the post and the reality. Since the beginning of the season, in relation to everything, I’ve tried to be very private and keep everything indoors but I felt that I needed to address the situation. Probably the post was not even his responsibility, but it was showing that training session was great and I’m ready which was totally wrong. So when questioned I had to give the reality of things.
“I repeat for the last time. He was not feeling good. He asked for a scan. He had a scan. The scan did not show an injury but his feelings were still there but as coaches, medical people we can never go against the player feelings. So he was not ready for the game. It’s as simple as that. If he’s ready for tomorrow he’s selected for tomorrow.”
Even if Bale does return to Tottenham’s bench then it still seems unlikely that he will get on to the pitch.
Mourinho has been reluctant to use Bale throughout the campaign so far, and the likes of Erik Lamela and Lucas Moura seem to have edged ahead of him in the pecking order over recent weeks.
Receive exclusive football transfer news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
