Gareth Bale was absent from Real Madrid's Liga title celebrations because of a bad back, rather than because of a poor relationship with the rest of the squad, insists manager Carlo Ancelotti.
Madrid sealed the Spanish league crown last weekend with victory over Espanyol and celebrated it with an open-top bus tour - but Bale was not among the players celebrating.
Bale has been a peripheral figure at Madrid in recent years, spending last season on loan at Tottenham and rarely playing this campaign amid injuries and regular questions over his commitment.
What did Ancelotti say about Bale?
The Welshman's absence from the bus tour was viewed as being further proof of his being ostracised from the first team, however Ancelotti has moved to defend his player.
The Italian coach said Bale was not on the bus because of serious back pain which prevented him from moving, let alone dancing and partying with the rest of the team.
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Speaking at his press conference ahead of facing Atletico Madrid in La Liga on Sunday, Ancelotti said: "Bale couldn't even walk the day of the Liga celebrations, he's injured. If he was fine he would've been with his team-mates."
'I'll stay at Madrid until I'm 80'
Madrid's Liga crown is the 35th in their history, and also represents an incredible personal achievement for Ancelotti - he has now won all of Europe's top five league titles as a manager, adding Spain to his Premier League, Ligue 1, Serie A and Bundesliga crowns.
Having conquered all of Europe's leagues, there has been speculation that Ancelotti could retire from management when he leaves Real Madrid - but he isn't planning on that just yet.
He said: "If everything goes well here, I would stay until I'm 80, why not? It's an idea I have, the day I stop with Madrid, I can consider stopping.
"I've enjoyed it a lot. Looking for a better team in world football would be complicated."
