‘Ronaldo may miss League opener’

Zinedine Zidane has admitted that Cristiano Ronaldo may miss Real Madrid’s La Liga opener against Real Sociedad on August 21.

Zidane was asked about the state of his squad in the second half of his Friday Press conference, with Ronaldo among the players discussed in light of his ongoing knee injury, and the Coach revealed doubts about the No 7’s availability for the start of the new season.

“[Karim Benzema] won’t play against Chelsea. When a player is injured, it always concerns us. He still has discomfort in his hip, but he’s getting better," he noted ahead of Saturday’s International Champions Cup friendly against Chelsea.

“Hopefully he can play against Bayern [Munich] as it’s important for him to do so before the Supercopa.

“[Keylor Navas] is getting better too, but I don’t know if he’ll be in the squad for the Supercopa.

“It’ll be difficult, but he’s improving every day and working well. If we have to play [Kiko] Casilla then he’s ready. We’re happy with him.

“[Cristiano Ronaldo] is out of the Supercopa. His injury will need a month to heal, neither do I think he’ll be fit for the first League match.

“[Marco Asensio] is happy here and showing that he wants to play for us. I’m delighted with what he’s doing.

“[Preseason] is used to develop rhythm. I want to see more pace [in our play], but we’re fine and well-prepared. I just want to see a bit more than the other day.

“The team must demonstrate that they’re well physically, not just at 100 percent. I want to see a different team.

“[On his sons being involved in preseason], I’m the Coach here, and my sons are here because they’re qualified to be so. They know the club and they deserve to be here.

“[On Luka Modric, Sergio Ramos and James Rodriguez], they’re doing the same as what the others [the players who did not participate in international tournaments] did before.

“They’ll train in the morning on Saturday and we’ll see if they can play [against Chelsea]. My idea is for them to be ready for the Supercopa, and for that they have to play, at least the friendly against Bayern.

“[On long journeys], I’m happy with what we’re doing. We’ve gone 10 days without travelling, the travelling from hereon isn’t so long and the players are happy. That’s the most important thing.”

Tags Chelsea Cristiano Ronaldo friendly Zinedine Zidane
La Liga - Club News