Bale looked set to be leaving Real Madrid this summer, but Zidane will now involve the Welshman
Saturday 17 August 2019 07:48, UK
Real Madrid boss Zinedine Zidane is ready to put his faith in Gareth Bale as he looks set to stay at the Bernabeu.
The Wales forward was omitted from Zidane's squad for a pre-season friendly with RB Salzburg, having also previously missed the club's trip to Germany for the Audi Cup.
That came after the collapse of Bale's proposed transfer to Chinese club Jiangsu Suning amid widespread speculation his six-year stay in Spain was about to end.
Bale reportedly skipped the trip to Germany, where the Spanish giants faced Tottenham and Fenerbahce, as he was furious with his treatment at the hands of Zidane and president Florentino Perez and felt he was not in the right frame of mind to play.
But Zidane now seems to have changed his mind on the Welshman, who was named in the 22-man squad for Real's opening La Liga match against Celta Vigo on Saturday.
"It seemed that (Bale) was going to leave but today he is here with us," Zidane said. "The dynamics are changing, things are changing. From now on, I will rely on him, as on others.
"I will rely on all the players who are here. He has his place, he is an important player and I hope that all the players will make the task of choosing a team difficult."
Zidane was dealt a blow on the eve of the new season, as summer signing Eden Hazard was ruled out for a few weeks with a thigh injury.
An injury update on Real's official website said: "Following tests carried out after training today, our player Eden Hazard has been diagnosed by the Real Madrid medical team with a lesion in the recto anterior muscle of the left
thigh. Pending evaluation."
Speaking on the latest Transfer Talk Podcast, Spanish football expert Terry Gibson suggests the power at Real Madrid may have shifted slightly from Zinedine Zidane towards president Florentino Perez regarding the future of Bale...
"There may have been a shift in power at Real Madrid. Because of the lack of form at the end of last season, and the poor results, performances and organisation in pre-season, I think Florentino Perez is getting more power back, because he probably feels he has to.
"There may have been an element of Perez getting involved to not allow Bale to leave, because Perez has always gotten on well with Bale."
