Wales manager Chris Coleman has claimed that speculation surrounding Gareth Bale's future has not entered his thinking ahead of their match against the Republic of Ireland this evening.
Bale is the subject of a world record-breaking bid from Real Madrid and is unlikely to feature against the Irish due to a slight foot injury that the Tottenham Hotspur man is currently nursing.
However, Coleman has said that Bale's injury is the biggest factor behind his probable exclusion and not because the coach himself is concerned with the player hampering his chances of a dream move to the Liga giants.
"I haven't thought twice about his move. He is not playing because physically he is not ready, not because he is not mentally ready," Coleman told reporters.
"Looking at his history over the last two or three weeks his workload has not been good at all. So for him to go into an international against a tough team like Ireland would be dangerous. We respect Tottenham and have a good relationship with them and we decided before he got here that it was too much of a risk.
"It would not have been in the back of my mind - if he had played and anything happened - that he was on the verge of a big move. My job is to win games with Wales. I haven't thought twice about his move. He is not playing because physically he is not ready, not because he is not mentally ready."
Coleman also recently stated that he feels Bale would be able to handle a move to Madrid.
Paul Gorst
