Ranieri insists Forlan did not refuse to come off the bench in Inter's draw versus Atalanta

Inter coach Claudio Ranieri has stressed that experienced attacker Diego Forlan did not refuse to come off the bench in his side's scoreless draw at home against Atalanta on Sunday, but admitted that the former Atletico Madrid star was reluctant to play from the left.

Ranieri considered bringing on the Uruguay international wide left, but eventually opted to pick Luc Castaignos instead after a brief discussion with Forlan.

"Did Forlan refuse to come on? No. I asked him whether he was ready to feature from the left, and he said that he would prefer playing in another role if he were to come on," Ranieri commented to reporters when asked about the incident.

"It was a tactical decision. During the week Diego and I spoke about ideas in football and about how we can understand each other's."

Inter sit seventh in Serie A following this weekend's results with 41 points from 28 games.