Off the wire
• Xinhua world news summary at 1530 GMT, Sept. 17  • (Sports)Rosberg gets pole position at F1 Singapore Grand Prix 2016  • Israel's Iron Dome intercepts two mortars fired from Syria  • 1st LD Writethru: Police operation ends in central Paris, no danger detected  • Spirited Yanbian frustrates Pellegrini, virtually avoids relegation  • Urgent: Anti-terrorist operation underway in central Paris: police  • Bulgaria, China sign protocol on export of Bulgarian dairy products  • Nigeria's female U17 team tunes up for FIFA World Cup  • Interview: Bratislava Summit shows lack of unity within EU on migration issue  • China, Russia navies stage air defense, anti-submarine drill  
You are here: 　 Home

Bale and Ronaldo miss Real Madrid's Espanyol trip

Xinhua, September 17, 2016 Adjust font size:

Real Madrid will be without strikers Cristiano Ronaldo and Gareth Bale for Sunday's game away to Espanyol, coach Zinedine Zidane confirmed on Saturday.

Both players suffered knocks in Madrid's injury time win over Sporting Lisbon on Wednesday night with Ronaldo suffering from flue while Bale suffered a hip injury which saw him replaced in the second half of the 2-1 win.

"Ronaldo is not going to travel, he also has a sore throat and he is not going to travel. He is not fully fit and I am not going to take risks with anyone, much less with Ronaldo," said Zidane, who explained that Bale had "received a heavy blow on his hip and we are not going to take risks."

"The players want to play and that is good, but we have a lot of games coming up and we have to play every three days, so we can't take risks with such an important player," insisted the Real Madrid coach.

The absence of the two forwards means a return to the squad for Isco, who missed out in midweek, while Keylor Navas continues his recovery following an ankle operation this summer. Endit