"Cristiano is fine, he is 100 percent. He has trained and will be
with us tomorrow, there is no risk," Zidane told a news conference.
Real Madrid coach Zinedine Zidane said Cristiano Ronaldo "is 100 percent" and will face Manchester City in Wednesday's Champions League semi-final second leg but striker Karim Benzema and midfielder Casemiro will miss the game.
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.
But
Benzema is yet to recover from a hamstring problem and Casemiro is
still out after a knock to the hip sustained in Saturday's 1-0 win at
Real Sociedad.
"Cristiano is fine, he is 100 percent. He has trained and will be with us tomorrow, there is no risk," Zidane told a news conference.
"We need a 100 percent Cristiano," he said. "He's
a different player. His numbers show that and I'm happy he's with us
tomorrow. I'd have liked Karim and Casemiro to be there too, but others
will play and that's that," added Zidane.
"Karim's situation is different. He still has a problem and we don't want to take any risks," he said.
Ronaldo
is the top scorer in the Champions League with 16 goals while Benzema
has netted 27 times in all competitions this season. Forward Lucas
Vazquez replaced Ronaldo in the goalless first leg in Manchester and is
expected to fill in for Benzema.
"Casemiro
does not have a serious injury but he has a bruise and did not train
today. We will try and play the same way and put someone else in his
position. Casemiro is Casemiro but we have a big squad and there are
other players who can do what he does."
Brazilian midfield anchor Casemiro has grown into one of Madrid's most important players in the last two months.
Real
are on their best run of form this season, having won 10 league games
in a row. But Zidane, who took charge of the team in January after
Rafael Benitez was sacked, said failing to reach the Champions League
final in Milan on May 28 would be a "failure".
"Until
now we have said we haven't achieved anything. We are in good form, but
our aim is to do everything possible and try and go through.
"But it will be very difficult. If we don't get through, it'll be a failure."
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SOCCER