France midfielder Claude Makelele has played down suggestions that he boycotted training sessions with his club Real Madrid last week because of a pay dispute.
"If I had not trained for a couple of days it was because I didn't feel well," Makelele was quoted as saying in L'Equipe today.
"I provided a medical statement saying I was suffering from psychological problems. I didn't train because I could not.
"I feel all right now and I can tell you that I'll be able to train with Real Madrid on Thursday."
The midfielder, who is with the France squad in Geneva for today's friendly against Switzerland, was reported to be in a pay dispute with the Spanish champions.
It was suggested that he refused to train with the Real last week because the club were unwilling to grant him a pay rise or consider selling him to big-spending Premiership side Chelsea.
Makelele's future, however, is still unclear.
L'Equipe reported that a meeting between Chelsea's new billionaire owner Roman Abramovich and Real chairman Florentino Perez is taking place on Saturday.
Makelele is unlikely to be included in France's final line-up for the friendly today as Real have asked for the player not to be fielded.
He is expected to be replaced by AS Roma's Olivier Dacourt, who played well during the Confederations Cup in June.