Jose Mourinho critical of Gareth Bale, saying Tottenham man's Instagram post differed from reality

Jose Mourinho has criticised Gareth Bale for his Instagram post earlier in the week, with the Tottenham manager saying it differed from reality.

Bale took to Instagram to say he had had a good session in training, which inferred he was fit to face Everton in the FA Cup on Wednesday.

The Wales international did not feature in the matchday squad, which raised eyebrows in light of the Real Madrid loanee’s social media activity.

Mourinho was asked about the situation in his press conference on Friday, and said it was a misleading post as the player asked not to be included in the squad for the trip to Goodison Park.

"I have to admit that his post created something that needed to be addressed because there was a contradiction between the post and the reality," Mourinho said in a news conference ahead of Saturday's trip to Premier League leaders Manchester City. "Since the beginning of the season, in relation to everything, I tried to be very private, tried to keep everything indoors but I've felt that I needed to address the situation.

"Probably the post was not even his responsibility, I don't know... but the post was: 'Training session great,' so I'm ready and it was totally wrong."

Adding more detail on Bale's situation in the build-up to the Everton game, Mourinho said: "He was not feeling good, he asked for a scan, he had the scan, the scan didn't show an injury but his feelings were still there.

The 31-year-old Bale has started only two Premier League games since returning to the club on loan in October, having fallen out of favour at Real Madrid, and he is struggling to prove he is worthy of a permanent move.

With additional reporting from Reuters