Real Madrid Round-Up: Bale could miss El Clasico, Zidane backs Ronaldo for Ballon d’Or and more

We take a look at the key news surround Real Madrid today, following their 2-1 victory over Sporting CP last night

Zinedine Zidane has backed Cristiano Ronaldo for Ballon d’Or

Ronaldo faces competition from five-time winner Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez of Barcelona, Madrid team-mate Gareth Bale and Atletico Madrid star Antoine Girezmann in his bid to clinch the Ballon d’Or.

However, according to Eurosport, Ronaldo is hoping to win it this year, having won the Champions League last  season as well as Euro 2016

“My goal is to win the Ballon d’Or every year and I didn’t last time,” said Ronaldo.

“I hope to win it this time around. That shows that football is a marathon, not a sprint. It’s about who wins at the end.”

Zidane also backed his man, saying he has proven that he is the best in the world :

“Ronaldo near the Golden Ball? I never had any doubts that Cristiano was the best and now he has closed the debate.”

Madrid confirm Bale injury, Welshman could miss El Clasico

Gareth Bale was substituted in last night’s match against Sporting CP, having picked up an ankle injury.

The extent of the injury was not known until Madrid released this statement on their official website :

“After tests carried out on our player Gareth Bale at the Sanitas La Moraleja University Hospital, he has been diagnosed with a traumatic dislocation of the peroneal tendons of his right ankle. His recovery will continue to be assessed”

This means that it is very likely that Bale will miss next Saturday’s El Clasico, as he would have only 10 days to recover from this injury.

Casemiro returns to training

According to Sky Sports, Real Madrid today confirmed that Casemiro has returned to training after over two months out with injury.

The Brazil international midfielder fractured a bone in his leg in Real’s 2-0 win at Espanyol on September 18 and has not played since then.

Casemiro returned to training today, and will provide a boost to Zidane’s squad going into next weekend’s El Clasico.

Zidane praises Real Madrid performance

Zinedine Zidane was full of praise for his Real Madrid side after their last-gap 2-1 victory over Sporting CP last night.

Karim Benzema scored a fine header in the 87th minute to ensure that Real Madrid secured automatic qualification, leaving them with a straight shoot-out with Borussia Dortmund to determine who will top the group.

Speaking after the match, Zidane had this to say :

“What we want to do is to continue doing what we are doing, knowing that there are moments during the game where things are not going for us,” he said, according to Sky Sports.

“To have gone so many games without losing is an extra motivation and we want to keep moving forward knowing that when you win matches, you go out more motivated next time.”

Zidane also spoke of how Real Madrid’s current 30-match unbeaten run is a huge motivator for his team, and he will be hoping to continue this run into next Saturday’s crunch clash against Barcelona.