With just three days to go until the Clásico at the Bernabéu, Cristiano Ronaldo has been the cause of some concern at Valdebebas after missing training on Monday and Tuesday.
Since scoring the winning goal in the Club World Cup final against Grêmio last Saturday, the Portuguese has not been involved in group sessions at Real’s training complex and has been working in the gym. The club has issued no statement on Ronaldo’s physical state or whether he picked up a problem in the UAE or not, but he has not been at Zinedine Zidane’s disposal so far this week.
Benzema back on the training pitch
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Matthew Ashton - AMAGetty Images
Karim Benzema also missed Tuesday’s session but returned to the fold on Wednesday with the rest of the squad on the Valdebebas pitches. Like Ronaldo, Benzema worked inside Real’s training complex on Tuesday but was back with Zidane and his teammates on Wednesday and everything points to the Frenchman starting in attack on Saturday.
