Zinedine Zidane Plays Down Bale's Real Madrid Exit Rumours
Real Madrid boss Zinedine Zidane has revealed that the injury plagued Gareth Bale is having his playing time limited in a bid to protect him from further setbacks ahead of the final few months of the campaign.
While the Wales international is available for selection having recovered from his latest calf and ankle injury Bale has made just one start in Real Madrid's last four games, which even saw him take to the bench for the club's 3-1 Champions League last-16 first leg victory over Paris Saint-Germain.
The future of the 28-year-old at the Bernabeu has been brought into question having made just 36 starting appearances in the last two seasons combined, with reports from AS and Marca claiming the Spanish giants are preparing to offload him in the summer.
Zidane continues to manage his squad leading into the end of the season, having rested Cristiano Ronaldo in the victory against Leganes on Wednesday, with the Frenchman insisting he is simply doing what is best for his team.
"You would have to ask [Bale] how he feels," Zidane said, via ESPN. "What we aim for with all of them is for them to be good, to train well, to be committed. I want to see Gareth at 100 percent, not to lose him again.
"When we play every three days I look at everything with all the players -- their form, how they are feeling, there are many important things behind decisions.
"But for sure Gareth will have an important role this season. Today you talk about Bale, everyday it is another player. But I am interested in the squad, not just one or two players."
Meanwhile, Zidane also looked to play down speculation that Dani Ceballos was angered by being substituted onto the field with just 29 seconds remaining at Leganes.
Zidane added: "I did not like what happened and I apologized. "I am happy with him, he is a good kid, hard worker. I remember the game he played in reverse fixture against Alaves, scoring two goals. It's true he has played little, but I am happy with him and he will get minutes."
