Real Madrid coach Zinedine Zidane denies freezing out James Rodriguez.

Zidane left James on the bench for the draw at Barcelona.

"I admire James. He trains and is available to the group and is part of the group," said Zidane.

"I have the same deal with James as with everyone. When you play less you can think about leaving, but he is an important player for me. It's true that it's a problem because he wants to play more, but for me he's important because I'm going to need the whole group."