<
>

Real Madrid's Cristiano Ronaldo left off squad for Eibar clash

Cristiano Ronaldo will not play at Eibar on Saturday with Real Madrid hoping to bring a halt to their slide in La Liga that has seen Barcelona overtake them in the standings.

Ronaldo, 32, missed Friday´s training session through injury and will miss the encounter in Ipurua, the club announced.

Real coach Zinedine Zidane had said of Ronaldo in Friday's news conference: "He has a recurring problem and that is why he has not trained with us today. Every game is important, but the most important thing is for the player to be well that is why we will see what we do with Cristiano."

With Gareth Bale and Alvaro Morata suspended this weekend, Ronaldo's absence is a significant blow for Real.

He has scored four goals in his team's last three league games, including a brace in Wednesday's 3-3 come-from-behind draw with Las Palmas.

Wales international Bale has been handed a two-match ban after he was shown his first red card in La Liga, the second in his career, against Las Palmas.

Zidane said: "I have 24 players and my message has always been the same since I began to coach here: All the players are important. I'm not going to change that.

"If we want to win La Liga, we cannot give away many points. But playing every three days, we need to have a rotation."

Barcelona leapfrogged Real into first place this week but Zidane's side have a game in hand.

Meanwhile, former Real Madrid director of football Arrigo Sacchi said this week that the team is in a "very delicate situation" after losing top spot in La Liga and said the "drop in physical form is evident."

"We are only thinking about how we can do things better," Zidane said. "There is a lot of negativity surrounding the team and the club, but that is always going to happen and we know that."

Real have won one of their last three league games and needed another comeback against Las Palmas on Wednesday to earn a point.

Zidane's side had previously come from two goals down to win 3-2 win at Villarreal last week.

"Right now the results are not what we expected but the important thing is to give 100 percent," Zidane said.

"We need to play a good game in Ipurua. As with every game we know the challenges that we have, it´s a difficult encounter. We depend on ourselves."

Eibar are punching above their weight this season and are seventh in La Liga with 39 points from 25 games.

The Basque team coached by Jose Luis Mendilibar has won four of their last six games and lost three league encounters at home this season.

Real, who visit the San Paolo stadium to face Napoli on March 7 in their Champions League round-of-16 second leg after the trip to Eibar, are without injured defenders Raphael Varane and Fabio Coentrao.

Real players observed a minute's silence prior to Friday's session in Valdebebas in memory of the 1958 Ballon d'Or winner Raymond Kopa.

The Frenchman, who won three European Cups while on the books of Real from 1956 until 1959 passed away on Friday at the age of 85.

"I want to express my condolences to the family of Raymond Kopa, who was one of us," Zidane said. "We are very saddened by the loss."