Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti has confirmed Cristiano Ronaldo will play in Saturdays UEFA Champions League final with Atletico Madrid. Ronaldo has been the star of Reals run to the showpiece at Estadio da Luz in Lisbon, scoring 16 goals in the competition this season. However, the Portugal international has missed the last two games because of a muscle injury sustained in a 1-1 draw at Real Valladolid earlier this month, and pulled out of last weekends 3-1 triumph over Espanyol in the warm-up. The 29-year-olds participation in the final against city rivals Atletico had looked to be in question, but Ancelotti insists Ronaldo will definitely feature. I think the two (Ronaldo and winger Gareth Bale) are going to play, Ancelotti said. Ancelotti does have doubts over whether striker Karim Benzema and defender Pepe will be available for the clash. Benzema suffered a hamstring injury against Espanyol, while Pepe is still recovering from a calf problem. Former Milan, Paris Saint- Germain and Chelsea boss Ancelotti expects Benzema to be fit in time, with Raphael Varane ready to step into the breach if Pepe is unavailable. Im realistic at the moment, weve got four days to see how things go, and well make a decision (on Benzema and Pepe) at the end, Ancelotti added. Now I think Karim is fine. If we thought that there was a risk of injury, he wouldnt play and he wouldnt train. Varane can play and can replace Pepe.
Posted on: Wed, 21 May 2014 05:52:27 +0000
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