Real Madrid boss Zinedine Zidane: 'I've been clear about Gareth Bale's future'

Real Madrid boss Zinedine Zidane has confirmed that Gareth Bale was not dropped from his squad to face Real Sociedad due to injury.

Bale has been heavily linked with an exit from the Bernabeu, and the Wales international has now not featured in Zidane's 18-man group for the last two La Liga fixtures.

The Frenchman has left open the possibility of a recall on the final weekend of the campaign, but the head coach has suggested that he remains focused on using the team's younger players.

Zidane is quoted by AS as saying: "Will Bale be involved against Betis? I'm not sure. We'll see next week if he is."

When quizzed on whether Bale was fit, Zidane replied: "Yes. It's very clear what I've done this weekend. Next week we see what I do, and also what happens next year. That's it."

Real suffered a 3-1 defeat to Sociedad on Sunday evening.