Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti says Gareth Bale does not have a serious problem with his back and is set to play a part in Saturday's La Liga game against Malaga at the Bernabeu.

While Bale remains less than 100% fit following his lack of a full pre-season last summer he returned to full training with his team-mates on Wednesday and looks set for a place on the bench at least.

The Italian coach echoed president Florentino Perez's opinion that Marca's recent claim the former Tottenham man was suffering from a slipped disc which required an operation to fix was just plain false when speaking with reporters at Madrid's pre-match press conference on Friday.

"It was a surprise as it is not the truth" he said. "Bale does not have a problem - it is just that he did not do a good pre-season and is not fully fit. If he had a slipped disk he could not have played over 100 games in the last four seasons.

"I have three 'protrusions' in my back and I have never had a problem with that in my career. It is normal - many players have it without it affecting their performance. His problem is just the pre-season he arrived without good condition but he is training well and he is available maybe for the full game or part of the game. I want to give him some minutes tomorrow as he needs to play."