Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti says he will not start Cristiano Ronaldo in the first leg of their Champions League semifinal against Bayern Munich on Wednesday if there is any risk of the World Player of the Year aggravating a hamstring injury.
The Portuguese has missed Real’s last four games due to the problem, but has returned to full training ahead of the clash with the European champions and is expected to take his place in Ancelotti’s starting line-up.
‘Cristiano has trained normally on Tuesday and has trained well in the past few days. On Wednesday we will have another test with him to be sure and then we will take a decision,’ Ancelotti told his pre-match press conference on Tuesday. ‘He will play if everyone can be assured that he can play without any problem. We are confident at the moment, but the decision will be taken on Wednesday.
‘If there is a risk of a recurrence of the injury he will not play because we need to think that this is a tie of two games and will not be decided on Wednesday. The decisive match in the tie will come next Tuesday.’
In Ronaldo’s absence, Gareth Bale has come to the fore as the Welshman has struck three times in the last four games, including a sensational solo run and finish to win the Copa del Rey for Real against Barcelona last week. Bale also overcame flu-like symptoms to train on Tuesday and Ancelotti believes he is enjoying his best run of form since Los Blancos paid a reported world record fee to bring him to Madrid from Tottenham Hotspur last year.
‘He is very happy at the moment. On Monday he had a small problem, but on Tuesday he was fine and has the confidence and enthusiasm the whole team has at the moment. ‘After scoring a goal like that against Barcelona in a final it is normal he is full of confidence. At the start of the season he had a problem with injuries but once he began to train everything has gone well. He has played very well and scored a lot of goals, but he still wants to improve for next season,’ Ancelotti said.