LONDON (AP) — Call it a raised-eyebrow emoji by Jose Mourinho.
The Tottenham manager said Gareth Bale’s recent Instagram post — an encouraging fitness update from the player complete with a flexed bicep emoji — was a “contradiction.”
Bale missed the FA Cup game on Wednesday against Everton after reporting an unspecified injury.
Mourinho addressed Bale’s status again on Friday, a day before Spurs visit English Premier League leader Manchester City.
“I hope that the press conference is about the game and not about individuals,” Mourinho began, “but I have to admit that his post created a need of being addressed because (there) was a contradiction between the post and the reality.”
Mourinho added, “I try to be very private … but I felt that I needed to address the situation.
“Probably the post was not even his responsibility, I don’t know. But the post was showing that ‘training session great so I’m ready’ and was totally wrong.”
Bale’s post said: “Good session today.”
The Wales international’s second spell at Tottenham has been underwhelming.
Bale has appeared in only six of Tottenham’s 22 games in the Premier League after securing a season-long loan in September from Real Madrid, where he had become an outcast. Just two of those have been starts.
The manager said Bale asked for and received a scan, which “didn’t show an injury.”
“We have a training session in the afternoon to see if he feels ready or not,” Mourinho said on Friday.
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