Real’s star forward, the prolific former Manchester United favourite, is poised to return to action for Wednesday’s Champions League semi-final second leg against City at the Bernabeu.
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Ronaldo has recovered from a hamstring injury which forced him to miss Madrid´s last three games in all competitions and has resumed full training.
Real Madrid did what they usually do on the weekend as they were victorious in a 1-0 win over Real Sociedad thanks to Gareth Bale’s header in the 80th minute.
Bale has stood up to be counted in the absence of injured three-time World Player of the Year Cristiano Ronaldo in recent weeks to keep Madrid’s hopes of a La Liga and Champions League double alive.
“Karim and Case are different. Karim today still had an issue, and we did not want to take any risks”.
“But we have another squad list and so everybody else can play”. “Casemiro is Casemiro but there are others who can do the same”, Zidane said, adding: “Well, not the same, but players who can do the job”.
Ronaldo leads the Champions League scoring charts with 16 goals this season, including a hat-trick in the quarter-final second-leg victory over Wolfsburg.
“If Manchester City have made it to the semi-finals, it’s because they’re an excellent team”, he told Madrid’s website. We can’t think that because we’re at home this will be easy. No. That gives us a small advantage.
“I’m pleased with my performance, getting goals in the Premier League, and I’m happy coming through to the first team this season, working hard to get more goals for them and help them in Europe”. Real Madrid is one point behind both Barcelona and Atletico Madrid with two rounds to go in the Spanish league. Malaga earned a 0-0 draw against the 10-time European champion at the Bernabeu, a result that, if repeated, would send Wednesday’s game into extra time. If Real Madrid do win, it could be a rematch of the 2014 final, or the semifinal.
With a crucial Champions League rematch against Manchester City looming, Zidane was forced to rest regular starters like Marcelo and Toni Kroos.
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He said: “We are going to try and replace Casemiro, he has his own type of game but we have other players who can play the same role, we are going to try and play the most competitive team possible, whoever plays will do the work of Casemiro”.
