Zinedine Zidane has confirmed that Cristiano Ronaldo will be fit to face Manchester City in Tuesday’s Champions League semi-final first leg.
The Portuguese superstar missed Real Madrid‘s 3-2 victory over relegation-threatened Rayo Vallecano in La Liga at the weekend, and hasn’t featured since Real’s 3-0 victory over Villarreal on Wednesday.
While CR7 drew a blank in that match, he scored five—and contributed two assists—in his three previous matches, and there’s little doubt his absence would have been a major boost for the Citizens as they head into their first-ever Champions League semi-final.
However, speaking to the media ahead of Tuesday’s bout—in quotes relayed by Sport—Zidane has confirmed that his key man is in peak condition.
Zizou also revealed that Karim Benzema, who played only 49 minutes against Rayo, was also likely to play.
“I think they are going to be 100 percent,” the legendary playmaker and current Real coach began. “They are fine today.
“They’re players who look after themselves. My idea is that they are both going to be fit to play.”
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While the return of Benzema—who has scored 23 goals in 25 outings in La Liga, and four in seven in the Champions League—will be a concern for Manuel Pellegrini, Ronaldo’s fitness will be a greater concern.
Ronaldo is a familiar face in Manchester, and is currently the UCL’s top scorer, having bagged a whopping 16 goals in this year’s competition.