Jose Mourinho claimed Gareth Bale was left out of the Tottenham squad to face Everton through injury - despite an Instagram post from the Welsh forward appearing to contradict him.
Spurs took on the Toffees in the FA Cup fifth round on Wednesday, and there were some eyebrows raised when Bale was not even named on the bench.
When asked about the situation by BT Sport ahead of the game, Mourinho said: "No he's not on the bench because he wasn't happy with his training session yesterday.
"I would not say an injury, not at all, just some feelings he was not happy with, so it was better to stay back and work with the sports science guys."
Despite those comments, Bale actually posted a picture of himself on Instagram on Tuesday looking perfectly comfortable in training along with the caption: "Good session today."
It could be that the issue only presented itself after Bale had shared the photo.
But given Mourinho's brutal selection policy in the past, it would also come as no surprise if he simply still does not think Bale's performances are good enough to include him in his team.
The 31-year-old is enduring a torrid loan spell at Spurs, and has so far scored just four goals in all competitions.
And some believe the club are growing gradually more frustrated with both his work-rate and performances.
It looks highly unlikely they will choose to extend his spell beyond this season, meaning Bale may well return to parent club Real Madrid in the summer.
It remains to be seen if Bale returns to the squad when Spurs take on Manchester City on Saturday, but he is beginning to run out of time in which to make an impression in North London.
