Zinedine Zidane has said Gareth Bale missed Real Madrid's pre-season clash with Tottenham because he was unfit.
The Welshman has fallen out of favour with the Frenchman and was expected to leave the Spanish capital to join Chinese outfit Jiangsu Suning earlier this month.
But the £1m-a-week switch collapsed, meaning will - for the time being at least - remain in Madrid.
However, the 30-year-old did not travel with the rest of the Real Madrid squad to Munich for their Audi Cup campaign, with Zidane's troops suffering a 1-0 defeat in their semi-final contest against Spurs at the Allianz Arena on Tuesday night.
Reports had suggested the Wales star was not in the right frame of mind as a result of his failed transfer to China.
But Zidane has stated that Bale was not fit enough to be included in his squad.
"He didn't travel because he wasn't fit," said the Frenchman.
"After speaking with the doctors, the best thing was for him to stay in Madrid.
"He stayed back and is training there. It was a joint decision between the player, medical staff and the coach."
still has three years left to run on his existing deal with the La Liga giants.
