I won't stop Gareth Bale from playing golf, says Real Madrid coach Zinedine Zidane

Real Madrid coach Zinedine Zidane says he will not ask Gareth Bale to stop playing golf.

Much has been made in the Spanish media of the Welshman's passion for the sport and his recent celebration with a flag which read 'Wales. Golf. Madrid. In that order' did not go down well with the press or the fans.

Some have even claimed that his penchant for playing golf is one of the reasons he is injured so often and there were reports this week that Wales will forbid the 30-year-old from partaking in the sport during Euro 2020.

"You can’t be in a situation where you have players risking their health and fitness by playing golf," Wales FA Chief Executive Jonathan Ford said.

Asked on Friday if he would adopt a similar measure at Real, Zidane said: "I'm not going to stop anything - not with Gareth or any player.

"They are grown-ups and each one of them knows what they have to do."

Bale will miss Saturday's La Liga game against Espanyol with a hamstring injury and will also play no part in the Champions League clash at Club Brugge next week.

"It happened in the game against Alaves," Zidane said of the Welshman's latest problem. "Because after that we had two-and-a-half days of rest and he felt some pain. That's why he hasn't trained with us.

"Today he did a little, but not with us."